do you mean that they—or the majority of them—voice a single opinion or engage in a single deed?

367 – He answered, “That is not what I mean, and examples of that can be found elsewhere. What I have in mind is this: when one of them relates a hadith from the Prophet ﷺ and none of the others contradicts him with something to the contrary, that is proof that they were content with it and that they knew what he reported from the Prophet was exactly as he said.”

368 – I replied, “But could it not happen that he narrates while they do not hear him, or that he narrates and the one among them who does hear the report has no way of knowing whether what he conveyed was precisely what the Prophet said, or perhaps opposed to it? The narrator’s duty is only to transmit what he has heard; as for someone who is unaware of anything contradicting it, he has no right to reject it.”

369 – He said, “That might be conceivable, as you have described, yet the leading authorities among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—it is unthinkable that one of them would report something and the rest would leave it unchallenged unless they knew with certainty that it was just as he had reported.”

370 – He then added, “Accordingly, when one of their judges issues a ruling and they do not dispute it, this shows they recognize that what he said is the truth, and they are obliged to uphold the ruling.”

371 – I said, “Is it not possible that they believed him because he was outwardly trustworthy—just as they accept the testimony of two witnesses on the basis of their apparent integrity?”

372 – He responded, “And what if you say, ‘No’?”

373 – I replied, “If you say ‘No’ in a matter where the evidence shows they accepted the single report and acted upon it, you reveal your ignorance of what we have stated. And if you claim that something plainly possible is, in fact, impossible, then you are ignorant of what you are obliged to know!”

374 – He asked, “Then what do you say?”

375 – I said, “I say that their silence—failing to object—may stem from knowledge of what he said, or it may occur without such knowledge; it may signify acceptance, or it may mean they are withholding judgment; and it may be that most of them never even heard it at all. Therefore, your inference from their silence concerning what they actually heard him say—”