According to Shi‘ites, people know that they are possessed by Allah, but that acting while under that possession, without His permission, is evil. If they are to gain His favor, but can not be sure of the righteousness of their actions, there must be a prophet to give that permission, and to inform them of that which they do not know and of the rewards of obedience and punishments of disobedience. The prophets teach that which is needed to live a righteous life. In addition, according to philosophical and theological doctrines, to establish the rule of Grace and the clarity of the Divine message, Allah sent selected individuals as prophets to guide the people, to establish a social system, and to put an end to intellectual and social disputes. Thus, they believe that discharging of such a heavy responsibility is only possible if the prophet is immune from any error, and always reflects all aspects of truth and the Divine Will. Therefore, in their perspective, it is only in this way that people are guided and can form a wholesome social system, and that the philosophy behind the sending of the prophets necessitates their infallibility, and that their thoughts, actions, and sayings reflect Divine Will. Therefore, Allah does not guide via authoritative texts (i.e. the Qur'an and Hadith) alone, but also through specially endowed individuals known as Imams. Shi‘ites believe that status and authority attributed to Imams would have been senseless if they were prone to the same weaknesses found in ordinary people, therefore, that the prophets must be infallible (ma'sum) for the same reason that they were sent. In other words, they believe that the "ismah" or infallibility of the messengers establishes the authenticity of the message: To be required to follow a prophet who commits sin is a contradiction.