And He, Exalted, said concerning David—peace be upon him:

{David realized that We had tested him, so he sought forgiveness from his Lord, fell down bowing, and turned to Him in repentance. We therefore forgave him that, and indeed he enjoys nearness to Us and an excellent final abode.}

[Sūrat Sād: 24–25]

And He said to Moses—peace and blessings be upon him:

{Indeed, the messengers do not fear in My presence—except one who has done wrong and then replaces evil with good, for I am All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.}

[Sūrat al-Naml: 10–11]

Anyone who argues that this is impossible on the grounds that following their example is prescribed, whereas following them in sin is impermissible, may be answered as follows:

They are followed only in matters upon which they were allowed to remain, not in what they were forbidden (1) to do. Likewise, they are followed only in matters upon which they were allowed to remain and which were not abrogated, not in matters that were abrogated. Thus, the fact that following their example is prescribed and commanded does not preclude their committing something that they are subsequently forbidden to do and upon which they are not allowed to remain—whether in this case or the other—even though it is unanimously impermissible to follow them in an abrogated ruling.

One indication that abrogation is even more likely to cause aversion is that if a person were to abandon one course for another and say, “The former course that I followed was true, and Allah commanded me to follow it; and my abandoning it is true, and Allah commanded me to do so,” this would be more likely to make people recoil from him than if he were to say, “I have abandoned something that Allah never commanded me to do,” for everyone praises a person who says this.

As for someone who says, “My command to do this is true, and my prohibition of it is true,” this is something from which many foolish people have recoiled and which some Jews and others have rejected.

[THE NECESSARY IMPLICATIONS AND CONDITIONS OF PROPHETHOOD]

Another matter that clarifies the discussion of infallibility is the need to understand prophethood, its necessary implications, and its conditions. People have discussed this according to their foundational principles concerning the acts of Allah