Makhul narrates: Abu al-Azhar and I went to Sayyiduna Wathilah bin al-Asqa' (may Allah be pleased with him), and we said: "O Abu al-Asqa', narrate to us a hadith that you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in which there is no error, no addition and no forgetfulness." He said: "Has any one of you recited anything of the Qur'an tonight?" We said: "Yes, but we do not retain it all that well; we end up adding or dropping a waw or an alif." He said: "This Qur'an is present among you in writing, and you spare no effort in preserving it, yet you admit that you make additions and omissions. So what then of the hadiths that we heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? It may be that we heard them from him (peace and blessings be upon him) only once. If we narrate a hadith to you according to its meaning, that is sufficient for you."
Hadith Referenceالمعجم الكبير للطبراني / باب الواو / 18378