وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَبِي عَتَّابٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي عَفَّانُ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ الْقَطَّانِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ: لَمْ نَرَ الصَّالِحِينَ فِي شَيْءٍ أَكْذَبَ مِنْهُمْ فِي الْحَدِيثِ. قَالَ ابْنُ أَبِي عَتَّابٍ: فَلَقِيتُ أَنَا مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ الْقَطَّانِ فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْهُ، فَقَالَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ: لَمْ تَرَ أَهْلَ الْخَيْرِ فِي شَيْءٍ أَكْذَبَ مِنْهُمْ فِي الْحَدِيثِ. قَالَ مُسْلِمٌ: يَقُولُ يَجْرِي الْكَذِبُ عَلَى لِسَانِهِمْ وَلَا يَتَعَمَّدُونَ الْكَذِبَ.
Translation: Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAttāb narrated to me: “ʿAffān narrated to me from Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān, from his father, who said, ‘We have not seen the righteous produce more false statements in any matter than in hadith.’” Ibn Abī ʿAttāb said: “Then I myself met Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān and asked him about it. He reported from his father: ‘You have not seen the people of goodness producing more false statements in any matter than in hadith.’” Muslim explained: “Falsehood passes over their tongues, but they do not deliberately lie.”
Here “false” may refer to objectively inaccurate reporting rather than intentional fabrication. The first transmitted form reads lam nara al-ṣāliḥīn (“we have not seen the righteous”), while the directly checked form reads lam tara ahl al-khayr (“you have not seen the people of goodness”). They differ in grammatical person and wording, although the caution is shared. Muslim’s explicit “they do not deliberately lie” establishes the distinction. Piety and exact accuracy of transmission are different questions.