0/5.1. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 61 — Trust and Testimony
Unveiling Defects of the Transmitters of Ḥadīth and Relaters of Reports and the Statements of the A’immah Regarding That
Trust and Testimony: Good Traits Do Not Replace Reliability
Sahih Muslim : 61
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 61
حَدَّثَنِي حَجَّاجُ بْنُ الشَّاعِرِ، حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، قَالَ قَالَ أَيُّوبُ إِنَّ لِي جَارًا - ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ - وَلَوْ شَهِدَ عِنْدِي عَلَى تَمْرَتَيْنِ مَا رَأَيْتُ شَهَادَتَهُ جَائِزَةً .
Hammād bin Zayd Narrated from:
Ayyūb said: ‘Indeed I have a neighbor’ and he mentioned some of his virtues, [and continued] ‘…even if he testified to me about two dates I would not see his testimony as permissible’.
Reference : Sahih Muslim Introduction 61In-book reference : Introduction, Narration 60
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 61
This report teaches about trust and testimony. Ayyūb says he had a neighbor and mentioned some of his virtues. Yet he added that even if the neighbor testified to him about two dates, he would not see his testimony as permissible. The wording is important because it separates general good qualities from reliability in testimony. A person may have virtues, but that does not automatically make his testimony acceptable in every matter. This connects closely with hadith narrator reliability. In religious reporting, trust is specific and careful. People are not judged only by a few good traits, nor are reports accepted just because someone seems respectable in some ways. The report teaches balanced caution: recognize good qualities, but still check reliability where testimony and narration are involved.
What we learn from this hadith
- Good qualities do not automatically make testimony reliable.
- Reliability must be checked even when a person has virtues.
- Small matters can still require honest testimony.
- Fair judgment means praising good traits while noting limits in trust.
