The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Overlook the slips of people of good standing, except in matters of the prescribed punishments."
أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: أقيلوا ذوي الهيئات عثراتهم إلا الحدود.
Abu Dawud (4375), Ahmad (25474), Nasai in Kubra (7294), and Bayhaqi (8/334) all narrated it, all of them from the hadith of Abdul-Malik bin Zayd bin Saeed bin Zayd bin Amr bin Nufayl, from Muhammad bin Abu Bakr bin Hazm, from his father, from Amrah, from Ayesha, and he mentioned it. Except that Abu Dawud did not mention in it "from his father." The trustworthy narrators who transmitted it from Abdul-Malik mentioned in it "from his father," and its chain is hasan on account of Abdul-Malik bin Zayd, for there is disagreement about him, though his hadith is hasan. There is nothing in his hadith that would be objected to.Baghawi said in his commentary (10/330), "In it is evidence for the permissibility of foregoing punishment, and that it is not obligatory. For if it were obligatory like the fixed punishment, then the person of standing and others would be treated the same in regard to it."