But when the narrator’s truthfulness and accuracy are established—whether by miracles, as is the case with the prophets; or by the Prophet’s own endorsement of what he relates; or by the unanimous agreement of the error-protected community on his reliability and on acting upon his report, or at least on accepting and acknowledging it without objection; or by the appearance of supporting proofs, corroborations, and contextual indicators surrounding his narration—then one is obliged to judge him truthful, affirm that he neither lied nor erred, even though, had his report stood alone without those proofs, the possibility of error or falsehood would have remained. In the same way, a solitary report is not decisively declared false except on the basis of evidence that proves its falsity—either a definitive rational proof or a definitive textual proof showing that it contradicts established fact. In that case the informant must be either lying or mistaken, and further evidence will sometimes determine which of the two it is.

Accordingly, the Muslims possess from their Prophet reports that are mutawatir, and others whose authenticity the error-protected community has unanimously affirmed. They also possess reports whose truth is confirmed by additional forms of evidence, such as the following: one, two, or three individuals relate an event in the presence of a large gathering incapable of conspiring to lie, saying that the members of that gathering themselves witnessed the event; the gathering approves the claim and none of them denies it. Ordinary experience tells us that, were the narrators lying, it would be impossible for a group capable of mass transmission to agree to remain silent about refuting them, just as it is impossible for them all deliberately to agree upon a lie.

Conversely, if one or two people transmit something that, by custom, would necessarily be widespread and manifest, yet it does not become known, and they convey it furtively rather than announcing it openly before the public, it is certain that they have fabricated it.