—yet intentional substitution may at times be carried out for someone whose memorization is being tested (1), as an examination set by the tester, just as was done to al-Bukhari (2), al-ʿUqayli (3), and others (4). The condition is that it must not be continued (5); it should cease once the need has passed.
If, however, the substitution is introduced deliberately for no sound purpose—merely for the sake of novelty, for instance—it falls under the category of fabricated reports. But if it occurs unintentionally, it is classed among the maqlūb (inverted) or the muʿallal (defective) traditions (6).
[The Muṣaḥḥaf and the Muḥarraf]
Or, when the discrepancy arises from altering a single letter or several letters (7) while the outward written form remains unchanged in the context, then if that concerns
(1) Manuscript K reads: “dabtihi” (his precise transcription).
(2) Edition T reads: “al-Bukhari.” The account of his examination is recorded by Ibn ʿAdi in Asami man rawa ʿanhum Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari (p. 52), transmitted from several shaykhs. Al-Sakhawi remarks in Fath al-Mughith 1:338: “The anonymity of Ibn ʿAdi’s shaykhs does no harm, for their number offsets their unknown status. One should not be surprised at al-Bukhari’s memorization and his alertness in distinguishing the correct wording from the incorrect, for his power of recall is unparalleled; what is truly astonishing is that he retained the whole sequence exactly as it was put to him in a single sitting.”
(3) See: Bayan al-Wahm wa-l-Iham by Ibn al-Qattan, 4/63.
(4) Manuscript J has “wa-ghayruhuma” (and others) with the raʾ vocalized with a dumma; the adopted reading follows A, B, and K. Among those classed in this category are Thabit al-Bunani, Abu Nuʿaym, Ibn ʿAjlan, and Aban ibn Abi ʿAyyash. See: al-Muhaddith al-Fasil by al-Ramahurmuzi (p. 398) and al-Jamiʿ li-Akhlaq al-Rawi by al-Khatib, 1:135.
(5) Al-Laqani states in Qadaʾ al-Watar (p. 1121): “The phrase (an la yustamar) is in the passive; originally it would be yuntaha ʿanhu (one should desist from it). It may also be read actively, i.e., that the doer should not persist unless he has a valid purpose.”
(6) In the margin of manuscript D—in the author’s own handwriting—appears: “Then it reached likewise.”
(7) Manuscript A reads: “harf” (a single letter).