and able to distinguish what is true in them from what is false, and what is correct from what is mistaken—much less can the general public do so. It is known in general that some transmitted material is true and some false, but these people lack the expertise of knowledgeable hadith scholars. They therefore need other means of establishing what is true and what is false.

Allah—glorified is He—is the One who taught by the pen and taught man what he did not know; who created and proportioned; who ordained and guided; who gave everything its form and then guided it; and who brought people forth from their mothers’ wombs knowing nothing, and gave them hearing, sight, and hearts. He guides whomever He wills among His servants through such proofs as have been made available to him (1), proofs that disclose to him the difference between truth and falsehood, and between a true report and a lie.

As stated in the authentic divine hadith:

“O My servants, all of you are astray except those whom I have guided. So seek guidance from Me, and I shall guide you.”(2)

For this reason, the means by which truth may be distinguished from falsehood are many and varied—even in the case of a person’s assertion about himself that he is (3) a messenger of Allah, that is, a claim to prophethood. The means (4) by which the veracity of one who speaks truthfully and the falsehood of a lying claimant to prophethood may be known are many and varied, as we have already pointed out (5) elsewhere. Likewise, the means by which the truth or falsity of what is transmitted from the Messenger may be known are numerous and varied. The same applies to the means of knowing the truthfulness of the bearers of knowledge, for scholars know the truthfulness of such men as Mālik, al-Thawrī, Shubah, and Yahyā