The saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “The best of people is the one who comes with testimony before he is asked for it.” How is this reconciled with this hadith?

The questioner : The saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ..

The Shaykh : This refers to a person who has testimony in his possession. As for the hadith we are discussing, it refers to false witnesses, those who give testimony without being asked to do so. The one I mentioned has truthful testimony, but he is proactive in delivering it; he brings it before he is asked, or a person has a right and this witness testifies to it while the owner of the right is unaware of it. This happens often, such as when a person acknowledges a debt to another and you are listening, and you are listening, and the owner of the right forgets that you are hearing them, or you are walking behind them and hear him acknowledging it to him while he is unaware of you. In this case, you testify before you are asked to testify, either by informing the owner of the right or by informing the judge.