The Third Reason: The Hadith May Have Reached Him, but He Forgot It

Exalted is He who never forgets. How often a person forgets a hadith; indeed, he may even forget a verse. One day, the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—was leading his Companions in prayer and inadvertently omitted a verse. Ubayy ibn Ka'b—may Allah be pleased with him—was with him. When he finished his prayer, he said, “Why did you not remind me of it?” 1 Yet he was the one to whom revelation was sent, and his Lord had said to him: “We shall make you recite, and you will not forget, except what Allah wills. Indeed, He knows what is declared and what is hidden.” 2.

Another example of this—that is, of a hadith having reached someone who then forgot it—is the account of Umar ibn al-Khattāb and Ammār ibn Yāsir—may Allah be pleased with them both—when the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—sent them on an errand. Both Ammār and Umar entered a state of major ritual impurity. As for Ammār, he exercised his judgment