Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Can a trustworthy narrator (thiqah rāwī) also make an error (wahm)?
No one is completely free from error. Even a trustworthy narrator may sometimes make a mistake or fall into wahm. Occasional mistakes and errors do not disqualify a narrator from being considered trustworthy. Even the great Imams and Hadith scholars occasionally erred, yet this did not diminish their status of leadership or scholarly excellence.
✔ Imam Ibn ʿAdī رحمه الله (365 AH):
“Indeed, even a trustworthy narrator, though reliable, must inevitably make some mistakes here and there.”
(الكامل في ضعفاء الرجال: 7/105)
✔ Hafiz al-Dhahabī رحمه الله (748 AH):
“It is not a condition of being trustworthy that one never errs.”
(سير أعلام النبلاء: 9/525, 6/346, 6/338)
He also said:
“A trustworthy narrator sometimes makes mistakes in certain things.”
(تاريخ الإسلام: 4/1163)
And further stated:
“A trustworthy narrator may err.”
(تاريخ الإسلام: 4/43, 5/397)
Conclusion:
A trustworthy narrator (thiqah) can occasionally make mistakes or fall into wahm. This does not affect his overall reliability, nor does it diminish his scholarly rank or acceptance as a reliable narrator.
◈ Question:
Can a trustworthy narrator (thiqah rāwī) also make an error (wahm)?
◈ Answer:
No one is completely free from error. Even a trustworthy narrator may sometimes make a mistake or fall into wahm. Occasional mistakes and errors do not disqualify a narrator from being considered trustworthy. Even the great Imams and Hadith scholars occasionally erred, yet this did not diminish their status of leadership or scholarly excellence.
❀ Statements of the Scholars
✔ Imam Ibn ʿAdī رحمه الله (365 AH):
“Indeed, even a trustworthy narrator, though reliable, must inevitably make some mistakes here and there.”
(الكامل في ضعفاء الرجال: 7/105)
✔ Hafiz al-Dhahabī رحمه الله (748 AH):
“It is not a condition of being trustworthy that one never errs.”
(سير أعلام النبلاء: 9/525, 6/346, 6/338)
He also said:
“A trustworthy narrator sometimes makes mistakes in certain things.”
(تاريخ الإسلام: 4/1163)
And further stated:
“A trustworthy narrator may err.”
(تاريخ الإسلام: 4/43, 5/397)
Conclusion:A trustworthy narrator (thiqah) can occasionally make mistakes or fall into wahm. This does not affect his overall reliability, nor does it diminish his scholarly rank or acceptance as a reliable narrator.
