“Yet one cannot reach a definitive judgment (1) on that basis, for it is still possible that he lied even in making that confession.” (2) End of citation.

Some scholars (3) understood his words to mean that such a confession carries no legal weight whatsoever; that, however, was not his intent (4). He merely negated absolute certainty, and the absence of certainty does not negate the validity of a ruling, for judicial decisions (5) are rendered on the strength of predominant probability—and that is exactly the case here. Were it otherwise, it would never have been permissible to execute a person who confesses to murder (6) or to stone one who admits to adultery, on the grounds that either might be lying about what he has acknowledged!

Among the indications by which fabrication is detected is what may be inferred (7) from the narrator’s own circumstances. Such was the case with Maʾmūn (8) ibn Aḥmad (9): while he was present, the scholars (10) began discussing whether al-Ḥasan had actually heard from Abū Hurayrah or not (11)