Muslim said: Similar instances to what we mentioned from the words of Ahl ul-Ilm regarding those transmitters who are imputed in Ḥadīth, and reports about their defects, are great in number, it would lengthen this book to mention its investigation, and what we [already] mentioned should be sufficient for whoever reflects upon and understands the way of the people [Muhaddithīn] in terms of what they said and clarified of all of that.
Indeed [the Muhaddithīn] concerned themselves with the unveiling of the defects of transmitters of Ḥadīth and narrators of reports; they delivered verdicts in that at the time they were asked when there was a great danger involved considering that the reports are regarding affairs of the Dīn; whether [the transmissions] present a permission or proscription, a command or prohibition, encouragement or admonition.
If the transmitter for it is not a source of truthfulness or reliability, then those who know [his condition], who risk transmitting on his authority, and not declaring [his condition] to others whom are ignorant of his [state], are sinning through doing that, and deceiving the common Muslims, since he should not feel secure in that some of those who heard these reports will act upon them, or act upon some of them, and perhaps they are lies which have no basis, or a majority of them; this along with the fact that authentic reports from the trustworthy chains and the people who are satisfactory [to the majority of Ahl ul-Ilm] are in too great a number to compel relating from those who are not trustworthy and who are not satisfactory.
I do not think highly of those who would permit from the people what we described of these weak narrations and unknown chains, and who judge by these transmissions after knowing what is in them of those who are imputed and weak unless he, through his conveyance and judgment by them, desires to accumulate [status] through that among the commoners, or that it can be said, ‘How great is the number of Ḥadīth that so-and-so has gathered and compiled!’. Those who held this ideology regarding knowledge and traversed this path have no share in it and that they were designated as being ignorant is more deserving than for them to be attributed to knowledge.
وأشْباهُ ما ذَكَرْنا مِن كَلامِ أهْلِ العِلْمِ فِي مُتَّهَمِي رُواةِ الحَدِيثِ وإخْبارِهِمْ عَنْ مَعايِبِهِمْ كَثِيرٌ يَطُولُ الكِتابُ بِذِكْرِهِ عَلى اسْتِقْصائِهِ وفِيما ذَكَرْنا كِفايَةٌ لِمَن تَفَهَّمَ وعَقَلَ مَذْهَبَ القَوْمِ فِيما قالُوا مِن ذَلِكَ وبَيَّنُوا۔
وإنَّما ألْزَمُوا أنْفُسَهُمُ الكَشْفَ عَنْ مَعايِبِ رُواةِ الحَدِيثِ وناقِلِي الأخْبارِ وأفْتَوْا بِذَلِكَ حِينَ سُئِلُوا لِما فِيهِ مِن عَظِيمِ الخَطَرِ إذِ الأخْبارُ فِي أمْرِ الدِّينِ إنَّما تَأْتِي بِتَحْلِيلٍ أوْ تَحْرِيمٍ أوْ أمْرٍ أوْ نَهْيٍ أوْ تَرْغِيبٍ أوْ تَرْهِيبٍ۔
فَإذا كانَ الرّاوِي لَها لَيْسَ بِمَعْدِنٍ لِلصِّدْقِ والأمانَةِ ثُمَّ أقْدَمَ عَلى الرِّوايَةِ عَنْهُ مَن قَدْ عَرَفَهُ ولَمْ يُبَيِّنْ ما فِيهِ لِغَيْرِهِ مِمَّنْ جَهِلَ مَعْرِفَتَهُ كانَ آثِمًا بِفِعْلِهِ ذَلِكَ غاشًّا لِعَوامِّ المُسْلِمِينَ إذْ لا يُؤْمَنُ عَلى بَعْضِ مَن سَمِعَ تِلْكَ الأخْبارَ أنْ يَسْتَعْمِلَها أوْ يَسْتَعْمِلَ بَعْضَها ولَعَلَّها أوْ أكْثَرَها أكاذِيبُ لا أصْلَ لَها مَعَ أنَّ الأخْبارَ الصِّحاحَ مِن رِوايَةِ الثِّقاتِ وأهْلِ القَناعَةِ أكْثَرُ مِن أنْ يُضْطَرَّ إلى نَقْلِ مَن لَيْسَ بِثِقَةٍ ولا مَقْنَعٍ۔
ولا أحْسِبُ كَثِيرًا مِمَّنْ يُعَرِّجُ مِنَ النّاسِ عَلى ما وصَفْنا مِن هَذِهِ الأحادِيثِ الضِّعافِ والأسانِيدِ المَجْهُولَةِ ويَعْتَدُّ بِرِوايَتِها بَعْدَ مَعْرِفَتِهِ بِما فِيها مِنَ التَّوَهُّنِ والضَّعْفِ إلّا أنَّ الَّذِي يَحْمِلُهُ عَلى رِوايَتِها والِاعْتِدادِ بِها إرادَةُ التَّكَثُّرِ بِذَلِكَ عِنْدَ العَوامِّ ولِأنْ يُقالَ ما أكْثَرَ ما جَمَعَ فُلانٌ مِنَ الحَدِيثِ وألَّفَ مِنَ العَدَدِ ومَن ذَهَبَ فِي العِلْمِ هَذا المَذْهَبَ وسَلَكَ هَذا الطَّرِيقَ فَلا نَصِيبَ لَهُ فِيهِ وكانَ بِأنْ يُسَمّى جاهِلًا أوْلى مِن أنْ يُنْسَبَ إلى عِلْمٍ