How Fabrication of Hadith was Permitted ?

It was not for fabricators of hadith to let alone their science without supporting it with evidences permitting and justifying whatever they used to compose. Al-Tahawi, in al-Mushkil, reported a hadith from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet said: Whenever you are told a hadith from me, that you know and never deny (by mind), you have to believe it, whether I actually uttered it or not! Verily I utter that which can be known and not denied. And when it is reported to you a hadith from me, that you deny and never recognize, you have to disbelieve it, as I never utter that which is to be disapproved and cannot be known.

A similar hadith was reported by Ahmad, that the Messenger of Allah (S) said: When hearing any hadith ascribed to me, with which your hearts are acquainted and toward which you incline, finding it near to you, I am verily more entitled than you to it. But when you hear a hadith from me, which your hearts disapprove and from which your senses are alienated, finding it quite far from your conception, I will be verily farther than you from it. Al-Sayyid Rashid Rida says that the isnad (chain of transmission) of this hadith is good and authentic.226

Khalid ibn Yazid is reported to have said: I heard Muhammad ibn Sa’id al-Dimashqi saying: When the speech being fluent, I see no harm in finding an isnad for it.227

In al-Hilyah, he reported from Ibn Mahdi, from Abu Luhay’ah that he heard a shaykh from among the Kharijites saying (after repenting): These traditions are verily a religion, so you should be careful from whom you take your religion. We used to invent a hadith for anything we desired much.
The traditionist Ibn Hajar says: By God these traditions are actually backbreaking to those arguing with the mursal (hadith), as the heresy of Khawarij was during the early period of Islam with the presence of so many Companions, extending then to the age of the Tabi’un and those succeeding them.

When these people admire and approve of anything, they make of it a hadith with circulating it everywhere. Then it may happen that someone would hear something, relating it then without referring to that who firstly narrated it, out of good intention. From him it will be reported by another one, after whom comes that arguing with the assertives and takes it as a means for argumentation, despite its origin to which we referred before!

Notes:

226. Tafsir al-Manar,Vol.IX, p.228.

227. Sharh al-Nawawi ala Muslim, vol.I, p.33.

Adapted from: "Lights on the Muhammadan Sunnah" by: "Mahmud Ali Riyyah"