'Ismah (Infallibility/Innocence)

Infallibility, ‘Ismah (عِصْمَة‎) in Arabic, is the special cognitive state that keeps a person from committing sin and prevents any temptations. An Infallible person, for short infallible(ma’sum معصوم in Arabic), is someone immune from any error and wrongdoing. Infallibles make no mistakes and are bestowed with the gift of knowledge from Allah himself. Shia Muslims believe that it is imperative for someone chosen by Allah to lead people to be infallible, because their job is to guide humanity and convey the divine scripture to them. Therefore, every prophet from Adam to Mohammed is infallible. By extension of the prophets, members of Ahlulbayt (the family of the prophet) are also infallible.