it was but little beside much. Those who err do so only because they look at the small patch of black on a white garment, but fail to look at the black garment that contains some white. This stems from ignorance and injustice. Rather, these people should be weighed against their peers; their excellence and superiority will then become evident.

As for the ideal that each person imagines (1) in his own mind, though no such thing has ever existed, no weight is to be given to it. One person demands an infallible figure among the leaders; another demands someone who is effectively infallible, even if he does not call him infallible. With regard to a scholar, shaykh, commander, king, or the like—despite his extensive knowledge, religious devotion, virtues, and the abundant good Allah has brought about through him—he further expects that nothing should ever have escaped his notice, that he should never err on a single issue (2), and that he should transcend the limits of humanity and never become angry. Indeed, many of them are expected (3) to possess qualities not expected even of the prophets.

Allah Most High commanded Noah and Muhammad to say:

“I do not tell you that I possess the treasuries of Allah, nor do I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an angel.”

[Surah Hūd: 31]

Yet the ignorant expect the person they follow to know everything he is asked about, to be capable of everything requested of him, and to be free of human needs like the angels.

This demand concerning those in authority resembles the demand of the Kharijites concerning the community at large: that none of them should have any sin, and that anyone who does have a sin is, in their view, an unbeliever who will abide eternally in the Fire.