Another problem arises when a pupil transmits a hadith from a teacher but the teacher later does not recognize or denies the attribution. The analysis separates categorical denial from a mere failure of recollection.
Categorical denial: “I never related this report,” or “someone falsely attributed it to me.”
Lack of recollection: “I do not remember it,” or “I do not recognize it.”
These statements have different evidentiary force. One explicitly negates the ascription; the other reports the current limits of the speaker's memory. Treating them as equivalent distorts the judgment of transmission.