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 the authority of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ 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 the authority of Shu’bah, on the authority of al-Hakam, on the authority of Abd ir-Rahman ibn Abī Laylā, on the authority of Samurah bin Jundab. And also Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us, that Wakī narrated to us, on the authority of Shu’bah and Sufyān, on the authority of Habīb, on the authority of Maymūn ibn Abī Shabīb, on the authority of al-Mughīrat ibn Shu’bah, they both said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said the same thing.  

واعْلَمْ وفَّقَكَ اللهُ تَعالى أنَّ الواجِبَ عَلى كُلِّ أحَدٍ عَرَفَ التَّمْيِيزِ بَيْنَ صَحِيحِ الرِّواياتِ وسَقِيمِها وثِقاتِ النّاقِلِينَ لَها مِنَ المُتَّهَمِينَ أنْ لا يَرْوِيَ مِنها إلّا ما عَرَفَ صِحَّةَ مَخارِجِهِ والسِّتارَةَ فِي ناقِلِيهِ وأنْ يَتَّقِيَ مِنها ما كانَ مِنها عَنْ أهْلِ التُّهَمِ والمُعانِدِينَ مِن أهْلِ البِدَعِ۔

والدَّلِيلُ عَلى أنَّ الَّذِي قُلْنا مِن هَذا هُوَ اللّازِمُ دُونَ ما خالَفَهُ قَوْلُ اللهُ جَلَّ ذِكْرُهُ ﴿يا أيُّها الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إنْ جاءَكُمْ فاسِقٌ بِنَبَأٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أنْ تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلى ما فَعَلْتُمْ نادِمِينَ﴾ [الحجرات ٦] وقالَ جَلَّ ثَناؤُهُ ﴿مِمَّنْ تَرْضَوْنَ مِنَ الشُّهَداءِ﴾ [البقرة ٢٨٢] وقالَ ﷻ ﴿وأشْهِدُوا ذَوَيْ عَدْلٍ مِنكُمْ﴾ [الطلاق ٢] فَدَلَّ بِما ذَكَرْنا مِن هَذِهِ الآيِ أنَّ خَبَرَ الفاسِقِ ساقِطٌ غَيْرُ مَقْبُولٍ وأنَّ شَهادَةَ غَيْرِ العَدْلِ مَرْدُودَةٌ والخَبَرُ وإنْ فارَقَ مَعْناهُ مَعْنى الشَّهادَةِ فِي بَعْضِ الوُجُوهِ فَقَدْ يَجْتَمِعانِ فِي أعْظَمِ مَعانِيهِما إذْ كانَ خَبَرُ الفاسِقِ غَيْرَ مَقْبُولٍ عِنْدَ أهْلِ العِلْمِ كَما أنَّ شَهادَتَهُ مَرْدُودَةٌ عِنْدَ جَمِيعِهِمْ ودَلَّتِ السُّنَّةُ عَلى نَفْيِ رِوايَةِ المُنْكَرِ مِنَ الأخْبارِ كَنَحْوِ دَلالَةِ القُرْآنِ عَلى نَفْيِ خَبَرِ الفاسِقِ۔

وهُوَ الأثَرُ المَشْهُورُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ «مَن حَدَّثَ عَنِّي بِحَدِيثٍ يُرى أنَّهُ كَذِبٌ فَهُوَ أحَدُ الكاذِبِينَ» حَدَّثَنا أبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أبِي شَيْبَةَ حَدَّثَنا وكِيعٌ عَنْ شُعْبَةَ عَنِ الحَكَمِ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أبِي لَيْلى عَنْ سَمُرَةَ بْنِ جُنْدَبٍ ح وحَدَّثَنا أبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أبِي شَيْبَةَ أيْضًا حَدَّثَنا وكِيعٌ عَنْ شُعْبَةَ وسُفْيانَ عَنْ حَبِيبٍ عَنْ مَيْمُونِ بْنِ أبِي شَبِيبٍ عَنِ المُغِيرَةِ بْنِ شُعْبَةَ قالا قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ ذَلِكَ۔