The statement of some scholars: A narrator who is a Companion may narrate a hadith and then act contrary to it.

The questioner : ... According to the statement of some scholars, a narrator who is a Companion may narrate a hadith and then act contrary to it. This is what...

The Shaykh : This is a different issue from the one I mentioned. The issue you are asking about is: if the narrator of a hadith holds an opinion that contradicts the hadith, is the criterion his hadith or his opinion?
The answer according to the majority is that the criterion is his hadith, his narration, and not his opinion; unlike the Hanafis, who reverse this and say that the criterion is his opinion, not his narration. This is a different issue from the one we were discussing. We said earlier that the narrator of a hadith is more aware of his narration than anyone else. This is not the case of when his opinion contradicts his narration; is his opinion to be preferred or his narration? No, his narration. An example of this is that Abu Hurayrah narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the well-known hadith in al-Bukhari: , then it was reported from Abu Hurayrah that he said, "Wash it three times." This is his statement, and that is his narration. His narration says seven times, and his opinion says three times. So, according to the previous difference of opinion: whoever says his narration is preferred over his opinion says that it is obligatory to wash it seven times, and this is the correct view. And whoever says his opinion is preferred over his narration says that the vessel is washed three times, not seven, and this contradicts the authentic hadith. It is sufficient to refute this rule by the contradiction of the authentic hadith.