Chapter 1: The Obligation of Transmitting on Authority of Trustworthy Narrators and Abandoning the Liars
Know - may Allah, exalted is He, grant you success – that what is obligatory upon everyone who is aware of the distinction between the Sahīh transmissions and their weak, the trustworthy narrators from those who stand accused, is to not transmit from them except what is known for the soundness of its emergence and the protection of its narrators; and that they fear what may be from those accused (of deficiency in narrating) and the stubborn people of innovation.
The proof that what we have said is required above what opposes it is in the verse: {Oh you who believe! If a sinful person comes to you with news, then verify it lest you afflict people through ignorance then you become sorry about what you did}[al-Hujurāt: 6]; and the verse: {… from whom you are pleased with from the witnesses}[al-Baqarah: 282] and the verse: {And let two who possess integrity among you bare witness}[at-Talāq: 2]. Thus it demonstrates what we mentioned from these two verses that the report of the sinful is dropped and not accepted, and that the testimony [Shahādah] of one who does not possess integrity is rejected, and the report [Khabar] as well- even though its significance is separated from the meaning of testimony in some respects, they are in agreement regarding the overall conditions they share since the report of the sinful is not acceptable according to Ahl ul-Ilm just as his testimony is rejected according to all of them . The Sunnah demonstrates the prohibition of transmitting abominable transmissions just as in the example from the Qur’ān regarding the prohibition of the report of the sinful.
There is a famous narration on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, that: ‘Whoever relates on my authority a narration while aware that it is a lie, then he is one of the liars’ . Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated it to us that Wakī narrated to us, on authority of Shu’bah, on authority of al-Hakam, on authority of Abd ir-Rahman ibn Abī Laylā, on authority of Samurah bin Jundab. And also Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us, that Wakī narrated to us, on authority of Shu’bah and Sufyān, on authority of Habīb, on authority of Maymūn ibn Abī Shabīb, on authority of al-Mughīrat ibn Shu’bah, they both said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said the same thing.
Chapter 2: Warning about Lying Upon the Messenger of Allah [peace and blessings of Allah upon him]
Muhammad bin Ja’far narrated to us, Shu’bah narrated to us, on authority of Mansūr, on authority of Rab’iy ibn Hirāsh, that he heard Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, giving a Khutbah and he said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: ‘Do not lie upon me; indeed whoever lies upon me will enter the Fire’.
‘Indeed what prevents me from relating to you a great number of Ḥadīth is that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: ‘Whoever intends to lie upon me, then let him take his seat in the Fire.’
‘Whoever lies upon me intentionally, then let him take his seat in the Fire’.
‘I arrived at the Masjid and al-Mughīrah, the Amīr of al-Kūfah said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, saying, ‘Indeed a lie upon me is not like a lie upon anyone else, for whoever lies upon me intentionally, then he shall take his seat in the Fire’.’
’ Alī bin Hujr as-Sa’dī narrated to us, Alī bin Mushir narrated to us, Muhammad bin Qays il-Asadī informed us, on authority of Alī ibn Rabī’at al-Asadī, on authority of al-Mughīrat ibn Shu’bah, on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him a similar narration, however he did not mention the words ‘Indeed a lie upon me is not like a lie upon anyone else’.
Chapter 3: The Prohibition of Narrating Everything One Hears
Shu’bah narrated to us, on authority of Khubayb bin Abd ir-Rahman, on authority of Hafs bin Āsim, on authority of Abī Hurayrah, he said, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: ‘It is enough of a lie for a man to narrate everything he hears’.
Abū Bakr bin Abī Shaybah narrated to us, Alī bin Hafs narrated to us, Shu’bah narrated to us, on authority of Khubayb bin Abd ir-Rahman, on authority of Hafs bin Āsim, on authority of Abī Hurayrah, on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, the same as that.
‘It is enough of a lie for a man that he narrates everything he hears’.
‘Know that a man who relates everything he hears is not safe, and he can never be an Imām, as long as he narrates everything he hears’.
‘It is enough of a lie for a man that he narrates everything he hears’.
‘A man cannot be an Imām whose example is followed until he withholds from some of what he hears’.
‘Iyās bin Mu’āwiyah asked me saying: ‘Indeed I see that you love knowledge of the Qur’ān, so recite for me a Sūrah and explain it until I can reflect on what you know’. [Sufyān] said, so I did that, and [Iyās] said to me: ‘Memorize from me what I am about to say to you- Beware of abominations in Ḥadīth for indeed rarely does anyone convey them except he lowers himself and his Ḥadīth are denied’.’
‘It is the case that you do not relate to the people a narration which their minds cannot grasp except that it becomes a Fitnah for some of them’.
Chapter 4: The Weak Narrators, Liars, and Those Whose Hadith are Avoided
‘There will be in the last of my nation a people narrating to you what you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them’.
‘There will be in the end of time charlatan liars coming to you with narrations that you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them lest they misguide you and cause you tribulations’.’
‘Indeed Satan will appear in the form of a man and he will come to the people, narrating to them false Ḥadīth, and they will then depart. Then a man among them will say: ‘I heard a man whose face I recognize but I do not know his name narrating [such and such]…’
‘Indeed in the sea are devils chained up, whom Sulaymān shackled and they are at the point of emerging. Then they will recite a Qur’ān upon the people.’
‘Go back to such-and-such narration‘. Then [Bushayr] returned to it and narrated it. So [Ibn Abbās] said to him: ‘Go back to such-and-such narration’. Then [Bushayr] returned to it and narrated it. Thus [Bushayr] said to him: ‘I do not know whether you know all of my Ḥadīth and you reject this one and that, or if you reject all of my Ḥadīth and know this one and that?’ Ibn Abbās said to him: ‘Indeed we would be narrated to on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, at a time when one would not lie upon him, however when the people took the difficult [Munkar] and the docile [Sahīh], we abandoned listening to Ḥadīth from them’.