Caution in Narrating Hadith

There are many Ahaadith narrated from Hazrat Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anhu). However, whenever he narrated Ahaadith, he exercised a lot of caution, out of fear that he should not wrongfully attribute anything to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). The following incidents illustrate the deep caution that Hazrat Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) would exercise:

Hazrat Saa’ib bin Yazid (rahimahullah) narrates that he travelled with Hazrat Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) from Madinah Munawwarah to Makkah Mukarramah. Saa’ib (rahimahullah) further mentions, “I did not hear him narrate a single Hadith of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) during the journey (due to his caution in narrating Ahaadith from Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)).”

A few people once went to Hazrat Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and asked him a question. However, Hazrat Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) did not answer them and said, “I fear that if I narrate one Hadith to you, you will make it into a hundred Ahaadith.”

(Tabaqaat ibn Sa’d 3/106)