Re: Tawatur/Mutawatir
Peace Iconoclast
Mutawatir simply means that there are multiple chains of narration. Scholars have come to the conclusion that having such chains deems the particular saying as an authentic utterance.
But there are other qualifiers for authenticity, some are:
1) The soundness and consistency of message with respect to other established utterings
2) The character of the narrators
3) The source narrators being of close proximity to the prophet Muhammad (SAW)
4) The full context is also available other than the narration chain names
5) Unbroken chain of narration
To be authentic it does not mean that something is supposed to be taken at face value as true. Rather some sahih hadith are quotes of Muhammad (SAW) quoting others and to the untrained mind it may seem that something is being sanctioned when in fact it is not.
As for lies, through the process of tracing narration this should be minimised.
Authenticity is a certificate given by a scholar deeming a given saying as passing the criteria for what is being checked i.e. completion of narration and widely transmitted, but it is not a license for saying something is true or not. Just heavily reliable or not.