Cautious to Transmit Ahadith
Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) relates, “I asked my father (Hazrat Zubair (ra)), ‘Why do I not hear you relate Ahadith from the Holy Prophet (sa) just as Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas‘ud (ra) and other companions do so?’ To this he replied, ‘Ever since I accepted Islam, I have never been absent from the company of the Holy Prophet (sa) but I have heard him say that ‘whoever knowingly attributes falsehood to me, he in turn prepares an abode for himself in hell.’”
(Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, vol. 1, p. 451, Zubair bin al-Awwam, hadith no. 1413, Alam-ul-Kutb, Beirut, 1998)
He did not imply that the others were attributing lies to the Holy Prophet (sa), but only that he deemed it better for himself to remain cautious, lest he utter something incorrect – even though the Holy Prophet (sa) stated that the punishment would be for those who utter falsehood knowingly. However, he was so careful to avoid even saying something accidentally and consequently becoming among those who incur punishment. This was how cautious he was in this matter.