Terms such as kadhdhāb (“liar”), waḍḍāʿ (“fabricator”), and muttaham bi-l-kadhib (“accused of lying”) differ in wording but all signal a grave concern about truthfulness. “Yasriq al-ḥadīth” (“steals hadith”) also denotes a serious allegation.
Case: If a critic calls a transmitter “accused of lying,” it does not automatically establish that every individual report narrated through that person was deliberately fabricated by that person; nevertheless, an unsupported solitary transmission cannot simply be accepted as evidence.
The degree of personal criticism and the verification of a specific report must be considered together, without blurring serious dishonesty and an occasional memory slip.