absolutely—whether grave or slight—because the station of prophethood is far too exalted to be tainted by committing sin or by willfully disobeying Allah. Moreover, we have been commanded to model ourselves after them, and that command would be untenable if sin could occur in their conduct, for an injunction to emulate them necessarily implies that all their actions are acts of obedience. Those who hold this view therefore reinterpret the verses and hadiths that seem to affirm the contrary.

The majority, however, allow that minor sins may occur to them, basing this on the evidence found in the Quran and the reports, yet they do not persist in such lapses; rather, they repent and turn back from them, as has already been detailed. Thus they are protected from persisting in sin, and the emulation we are charged with lies in following their repentance.