However, the innovators seize upon this issue to gratify a desire that relieves the pain of seeing the rise of Ahl al-Sunnah. Down the centuries they have resorted to well-known acts of abuse, yet every episode ends in their humiliation. And Allah is the appointed meeting-place. (1)

I have come across a statement by al-Albānī on this matter. He—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

‘I often transfer a ḥadith from the “Ṣaḥīḥah” to the “Ḍaʿīfah,” and vice-versa. The ignorant find this objectionable, whereas the people of knowledge not only accept it but thank me for it… By Allah’s grace, I rarely reprint a book without re-examining it, for I am convinced that sound knowledge does not tolerate stagnation. I am astonished by an author who wrote a book twenty years ago and then reissues it exactly as it was—without change or modification. What kind of knowledge is that? Is it revelation from heaven, or the effort of a human being who may err and may be correct?’ (2)

He—may Allah illuminate his resting place—also said in the introduction to volume one of Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ḍaʿīfah (pp. 3–6, new edition):

‘Because one of the innate qualities with which Allah created mankind is intellectual limitation—as indicated in His words, “and they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills” (Qur’an 2:255)—it is self-evident that a researcher should not remain frozen upon an earlier opinion or ijtihād once it becomes clear that the correct view lies elsewhere. For this reason, the books of the scholars contain divergent statements from the same imam regarding ḥadith, narrator biographies, and matters of jurisprudence, especially from Imām Aḥmad. Imām al-Shāfiʿī distinguished himself in this respect, being famed for having two schools: an earlier and a later one. Therefore, let the courteous reader not be surprised when I retract some views and rulings…’