[Pooya/Ali Commentary 40:55] Refer to Nisa: 106. By isolating wastaghfir lidhambika from its context the preconceived antagonism of the Christian commentators led them to believe that the Holy Prophet was not free from sinning; so a sinner cannot purify other sinners. The word ghafar means to cover or protect, so istighfar means seeking protection. Zanb means an act of inadvertence or an unintentional shortcoming which is quite different from ithm (peculiarly intentional sin). Wastaghfir lidhambika actually means "seek protection (of your Lord) against (any natural or unintentional) shortcoming". Protection is sought before any untoward or undesireable event takes place, not after a calamity afflicts. When a sin is committed forgiveness and pardon is sought, not protection. The Holy Prophet and his Ahl ul Bayt were thoroughly purified by Allah (Ahzab: 33). In Maryam: 51 Allah says that Musa was freed from all impurities. The status of the Holy Prophet is much higher than Musa and all other prophets. See commentary of Ali Imran: 81; Baqarah: 253, 285 and Bani Israil: 1. According to Hijr: 39; Araf : 16 and 17 and Ibrahim: 22, it is Shaytan who allures man unto sin, and Nahl: 99 and Hijr: 40 say that he has no authority over the purified servants of Allah. So all the prophets of Allah are infallible. They always sought the protection of their Lord against the efforts of Shaytan. As verse 27 of Anbiya says: "They speak not before He speaks; and they always act by His command." Every prophet of Allah had a natural inclination to seek goodness from Allah for his followers. He felt that their welfare was his responsibility. He treated their happiness or salvation as his own. So he always sought pardon and forgiveness for his people as he would do for his own self, and therefore he was addressed in person at many places in the Quran instead of his followers; and commandments intended for the people were addressed to the prophet. For example in Araf: 150 and 151, although the people had worshipped the calf, Musa prays to seek protection for himself and his brother Harun, using the same words: Rabbigh-firli wa li-akhi (O Lord grant protection to me and my brother). In Baqarah: 286, man has been taught to pray: "wa-fu anna waghfirlana warhamna (our Lord, pardon us, and grant us protection, and have mercy on us)." For pardon afu, and for protection against sinning in future ighfir have been used. In verse 25 of Bani Israil ghafar (protection) is promised for those who do deeds of righteousness, not for those who do evil, so protection becomes reward. In verse 7 of this surah the angels who bear the arsh seek protection (yastaghfiruna) for the believers, otherwise to seek pardon for those who believe in Allah, do good and follow His religion becomes meaningless. In verse 8 of Tahrim first the believers will be purified and freed from all traces of evil, then they will be admitted into the paradise where they shall pray: "O Lord, perfect for us our light and grant us protection." If instead of protection, pardon is used, then it carries no meaning. Baqarah: 129, 151 ; Ali Imran: 164; Bara-at: 103 and Jumu-ah: 2 clearly make known that it is the Holy Prophet who was sent by Allah with a prerogative to purify mankind. The Quran proclaims the infallibility of Isa, but Jesus of the Bible is presented as a timid, frightened and despondent individual. "Jesus cried aloud: "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, 'My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken me?' " (Matthew 27 : 46). "He went on a little, fell on his face in prayer, and said, 'My father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Yet not as I will, but as Thou wills.'" (Matthew 26: 39) When the God of Christian church has forsaken His own begotten son without any reason, for no fault has been ascribed to him in the Bible, then He will definitely forsake the common sinners. A forsaken son of God will never be able to save the sinners from divine punishment; and when he himself did not surrender to the will of God, he could not ask others to submit to the will of God. The true interpretation of this verse is seeking protection of Allah against any possible act of inadvertence in future for his faithful followers, not for himself. As stated in Ali Imran: 41, evening and morning are the best time for celebrating the praises and glory of Allah. Aqa Mahdi Puya says: All finite beings have the inherent shortcoming of not owning anything of their own. A dark object receives light from an illuminating source, but the light it receives never becomes its property. It is there so far the source is directed towards it; and as soon as its direction is changed the inherent darkness reappears. Whatever excellence a created being owns is a gift from Allah. No finite being has an existence of its own. Any degree of existence it has is a gift bestowed on it by the eternal source of existence and the moment it is withdrawn the existence of the finite being ceases to be. Among the finite beings, man is distinguished from other finite beings by the ability to receive more and more gifts of excellences from the infinite providence to cover inherent shortcomings. To obtain it he has to pray for it. This prayer is called istighfar (to seek a cover). There is no one among the finite beings who is exempt from istighfar. To receive more and more, continuous istighfar is necessary. Ordinary men are often unmindful of their shortcomings. The men of God are constantly alive to the danger of falling into the trap of shortcomings, so they make use of continuous istighfar. It is a virtue which all prophets of Allah proudly owned. It is also a way of life of the prophets to set an example to their followers. The Holy Prophet as the foremost guide in the order of devotion, submission and worship seeks protection against any remotest possibility of even an unintentional act of inadvertence and includes his faithful followers in his prayer. He is witness over witnesses. Refer to Bani Israil: 1 for the prayer of all the prophets behind the Holy Prophet. On the day of judgement every person will be worried for his own salvation but the Holy Prophet will represent the whole mankind for their salvation before Allah. Therefore his istighfar is not only for himself but for all the believers. See Muhammad: 19 and Fath : 2. Zanb, in connection with the Holy Prophet or any other prophet, does not mean sin.