For this reason, the position of the early generations of this community and its leading scholars was that the prophets are protected from being allowed to persist in sins, and that Allah restores them through the repentance He loves—“He loves those who repent”—even if the good deeds of the righteous count as misdeeds for those brought near to Him. Whatever sins they committed were for the sake of the perfection attained in the end through repentance, not the deficiency at the outset through sin.

As for others, such protection is not assured to them. Only the ignorant among the Rāfidah and the extremist ascetics claim absolute infallibility for anyone other than the prophets. This has been discussed at length elsewhere.

As for their statement, “Prophethood ultimately comes down to wisdom and welfare,” there is no doubt that Allah sends the prophets to bring about the welfare of His servants in this life and the Hereafter. There is no doubt that Allah has commanded His servants to do what benefits them and forbidden them from doing what harms them. Nor is there any doubt that wisdom consists of knowledge and acting upon it, as Mālik ibn Anas and other leading scholars explained. But what in any of this entails that some servants should be exempt from its requirements? Only someone foolish and corrupt departs from wisdom and welfare:

“Who would turn away from the religion of Abraham except one who makes a fool of himself?”

“And Allah does not love corruption.”

As for their statement, “Its purpose is to keep ordinary people in check, and we are not ordinary people,” the first claim is heresy and hypocrisy, and the second is a lie and a fabrication. The purpose of the revealed laws is not merely to keep ordinary people in check; rather, their purpose is to bring about righteousness inwardly