Ali al-Sayyah
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Ali al-Sayyah (Ali ibn Abd Allah al-Sayyah) is a contemporary Saudi hadith scholar and academic specializing in prophetic tradition and the critical science of hidden defects ( علل الحديث , ilal al-hadith) .
Academic Career and Scholarly Focus
Ali ibn Abd Allah al-Sayyah completed his doctoral research at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, where he took part in an academic project editing portions of Ibn Abi Hatim’s Kitab al-Ilal . He has served as an assistant professor of Islamic studies, teaching at academic institutions including the College of Education for Girls in Hafr al-Batin as well as the Department of Islamic Culture at King Saud University in Riyadh .
His scholarship concentrates primarily on hadith methodology and the critical techniques of classical hadith masters in uncovering transmission and textual defects . He authored the treatise Juhud al-Muhaddithin fi Bayan Ilal al-Hadith ("The Efforts of Hadith Scholars in Clarifying Hadith Defects"), which originated as a research paper presented at a symposium on the prophetic Sunnah and biography organized by the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran in Medina . In this and related studies, such as al-Manhaj al-Ilmi fi Dirasat al-Hadith al-Mu'all ("The Scientific Methodology in Studying Defective Hadith"), he argues that identifying hidden defects is a systematic discipline acquired through rigorous training and comparative transmission analysis rather than intuitive inspiration .
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List of Works
This contemporary treatise examines the science of hidden defects (ilal) in prophetic traditions. Originating from a research paper, the work elucidates the methodological efforts of early hadith critics in safeguarding the Sunnah. It demonstrates that their critical evaluations methodically addressed both chains of transmission and textual contents, clarifying that the identification of defects is grounded in systematic study rather than intuition.
This monograph is dedicated to analyzing and resolving the apparent legal and theological difficulties surrounding the authentic hadith of the female Companion Umm Haram bint Milhan recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. It specifically addresses surface concerns regarding seclusion and physical contact between the Prophet and Umm Haram, evaluating transmission paths and classical hermeneutical arguments to clarify the narration.
This specialized hadith study critically evaluates the prophetic narrations asserting that usury (riba) is graver than adultery (zina). Published in a 200-page volume, the work employs an inductive method to trace all chains of transmission, weighing the conflicting assessments of hadith critics and evaluating the textual content against foundational Quranic and prophetic principles.