179 For this reason Umar...

179 For this reason Umar, Uthman and A’ishah were all the time disapproving his narrations with accusing him (of falsification), rendering him to be the first narrator ever accused throughout Islam. A’ishah was the severest in disapproving his traditions, due to the too long period she and he lived contemporaneously, as her death came to be one year before his.

Thereafter erupted the insurrection during the days of Uthman, after which there was uproar and so much talk regarding the caliphate, with people indulging in sorts of suspicion, perplexity and anxiety.

Consequently there were many narrators who would neither take precaution nor verify or investigate (the traditions), the fact that became so common and familiar among people, who never cared for inquiring the veracity of traditions, or referring the riwayah to a decisive testimony or an establishing proof. But all the errors that occurred in the hadith previously were only due to inadvertence and ignorance on the part of the narrator.

The Companion 180 (of the Prophet) Imran ibn Husayn is reported to have said: By God, had I found it necessary, I would have reported from the Messenger of Allah (upon whom be God’s peace and benediction) as much as I willed, for two consecutive days, but I abstained from so doing when noticing a number of the of the Messenger, though having heard what I heard and witnessed what I witnessed, relating traditions whose original wording and expressions be far from what they were narrating.

So I feared of falling into imagination and misconception as happened to them. But the fact I want to disclose being that their practice was only out of mistake on their part and was never done by them on purpose. 181 The fact to be observed here is that this procedure was followed at a time when all the standards were still standing and branches were still there (i.e. material of hadith was still extant and undestroyed), with the situation reaching not the exacerbated degree yet.

But after the revolt of the Kharijites, and people’s tending to form sects and communities (firaq), dividing the society into schisms, some of the embarked on making of the hadith as a trade (for earning living), composing and fabricating false traditions.