"God will not punish them while you are amongst them and God...

"God will not punish them while you are amongst them and God will not punish them so long as they ask for forgiveness." [^5] In other words, just as the manifestation of God's mercy is to be found in repentance and seeking forgiveness, it is also to be found in the existence of the “Noble Prophet” (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).

Favored with The Greatest Form of Infallibility [‘ismat al-Kubra’] Infallibility is a faculty of the soul that prevents man from sinning or committing errors. If this is found in an individual in its highest form, it is referred to as "the greatest form of infallibility". And if a lower form of this faculty exists in an individual, it is called "the lower form of infallibility"[ ‘ismat al-sughra’ ].

Without a doubt, the Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) benefited from the highest level of infallibility. This is a matter that both Sunni and Shi'ah scholars have unanimously agreed upon. A great number of verses of the Qur’an as well as narrations ( hadiths ) make reference to his station of infallibility.

The following verse is one such reference: "God desires but to remove impurity from you, O People of the Household (of the Prophet, peace be upon them), and to purify you thoroughly (of all imperfection)." [^6] Favored with Closeness to the Divine Though it is true that all of God's prophets (peace be upon them) had very high spiritual capacities and for this reason, they were able to communicate with the unseen world and receive the waves of revelation which they caused to flow to the hearts of mankind, this ability and attribute of perfection was found in the Noble Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) with a particular intensity.

Even the angels drawn close to God could not comprehend this station. The intensity of his ability meant that at certain times, he could form a direct relationship with God.