Ismah

[2] When attributed to human beings, ismah means "the ability of avoiding acts of disobedience, in spite of having the power to commit them".

[1] Along with a pure constitution, excellent qualities, firmness against opponents, and tranquility (as-Sakinah), ismah is a divine grace bestowed by God.

[3][4] An infallible (Arabic: معصوم, romanized: ma'sūm) is someone who is free from error in leading people to belief, in perceiving divine knowledge, and in practical matters.

Prophets must be immune from all errors and sins in order to perform their mission of upholding and promoting the divine religion, interpreting the Qur'an, and establishing a wholesome social system.

According to Twelver Shia, The Fourteen Infallibles (Arabic: معصومون, romanized: Ma‘ṣūmūn) "divinely bestowed free from error and sin" include Muhammad, his daughter Fatimah, and the Twelve Imams.

[3] Shia scholars of the fourth and the fifth centuries AH extended the infallibility of Muḥammad and the Twelve Imams until the doctrine came to mean that they could not have committed any sin or inadvertent error either before or after they assumed office.

[4] Shia's fourth Imam, Zayn al-Abidin, regarded Ismah as "a quality which enables a man to seize firmly to the Qur'an".

[17] From a Shia theological perspective, ash-Shaykh al-Saduq argues that Ismah is a quality peculiar only to the Twelve Imams; it is a natural state of immunity from sin which is seen as a miraculous gift from God.

Virtues such as bravery, chastity, and generosity are forms of knowledge, deeply rooted in the human psyche, that enable a person to abstain from indulging in extremes of behavior: for example, cowardice and recklessness, austerity and dissipation, or miserliness and extravagance.

[27] Prophets are bestowed with supreme knowledge and thus a spiritual faculty[clarification needed] that always remain unaffected by whims and vices.

"[35] Besides investigating the subject in his Commentary on the Qur'an, he wrote a separate book titled Ismatu'l-Anbiya (The Sinlessness of the Prophets), and championed the cause of this dogma being a part of Sunni theology.

[38] Annemarie Schimmel believed that "The absolute obedience owed to the Prophet is meaningful only if Muhammad is free from any faults and could thus constitute an immaculate model for even the most insignificant part of life.

Sunni scholars believe that the prophets were given ismah even before their assignment to the prophecy, and that it covered every aspect of their life including the emotional, behavioral, personal, social, intentional and unintentional.

[3] Representing Shi‘ites' point-of-view, Tabatabaei stated that Ismah took two forms with regard to revelation: firstly, that the prophets were necessarily free from sin in the reception of revelation, in its preservation, and in its propagation, due to the principle of ontological guidance, which stated that God, in His omniscience and omnipotence, did not err in guiding those whom He desired to guide; and, secondly, that Ismah implied protection from sin based on the prophets' will and knowledge.

[51] Shia also believe that the prophets have complete knowledge of Allah's will given to them by the First Infallible, Muhammad, which at all times causes them to act perfectly in religious matters;[52] and that "as a result of the presence of Muhammadan Light, the Imam possesses the quality of inerrancy (Ismah), in spiritual and religious matters...and this Light is the source of knowledge and revelation.

[62] Ja'far Sobhani, a Shi‘ite scholar, claimed that the concept of Ismah originated from the Qur’an, regarding the prophet (Q53:3–4),[63] angels (66: 6), and the Qur'an itself (41: 42) [31] Dwight M. Donaldson regards the origin and importance of the concept of Ismah owes to the development of the theology of the Shi'ites in the period between the death of Muhammad and the disappearance of the Twelfth Imam.

It was apparently first used by the Imamiyyah, perhaps around the beginning of the second century AH, to maintain that the Imam must be immune from sin (ma'sum).

[12] Regarding the concept of Ismah in the Shi‘i doctrine, Imams have a more central role compared to the caliph in Sunni political theory.

[3] According to Francis Robinson, though Shi'ism initially began as a movement of political opposition to the Caliphs, the belief that eventually developed was that the Imams possessed superhuman qualities of sinlessness and infallibility.

[66] In the perspective of Shi‘ites, Verse 4: 64 of the Qur’an[c] expresses an absolute order to follow the messengers, so they must be infallible.

[68] The verse of purification[f] implies that it is the will of Allah[g] to purify none but[h] the Ahl al-Bayt as free of any kind of sin, error, and defilement.

[69][70] Shia interpretation of the verse of purification is based on the Hadith of Ahl al-Kisa’, which is an account of the Prophet gathering his four family members under his cloak.

[69][70][72] According to several Shi‘ite and Sunni ahadith, Muhammad clearly stated that ‘Ali was protected against sin and error, and that his sayings and deeds were consistent with teachings of Islam.

[73] The status of Imams as "proof of Allah to mankind" serves as an argument for their infallibility,[74] and the words of the Household of the Prophet are complementary to the religious sciences, and authoritative and inerrant in the teachings of Islam,[75] in the perspective of Shi‘ites.

Therefore, in their perspective, it is only in this way that people are guided and can form a wholesome social system, and that the philosophy behind the sending of the prophets necessitates their infallibility, and that their thoughts, actions, and sayings reflect Divine Will.

[81] Shi‘ites believe that status and authority attributed to Imams would have been senseless if they were prone to the same weaknesses found in ordinary people,[81] therefore, that the prophets must be infallible (ma'sum) for the same reason that they were sent.

[20] In other words, they believe that the ismah or infallibility of the messengers establishes the authenticity of the message:[82][83] To be required to follow a prophet who commits sin is a contradiction.

According to Dabashi, Khomeini's theory helped "to secure the all-important attribute of infallibility for himself as a member of the awliyah (friends of God), by eliminating the theological problems of undermining the expectation of the Mahdi.