Hisham al-Hallaf
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Hisham al-Hallaf (full name Hisham ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Hallaf) is a contemporary scholar of hadith and academic based in Riyadh, known for his work on the methodology of hadith criticism .
Career and Scholarly Contribution
Al-Hallaf served as a teaching assistant (muʿīd) in the Department of Sunnah and its Sciences at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh .
His scholarly focus centers on the discipline of hidden defects in prophetic traditions (ʿilal al-ḥadīth). In his treatise al-Taʿrīf bi-ʿIlm al-ʿIlal ("Introduction to the Science of Hadith Defects"), completed on 23 Rabi al-Awwal 1424 AH / 2003 CE, he outlined the foundations and terminology of the field . Al-Hallaf delineated the usage of the term ʿillah among early hadith critics, distinguishing between its general application to any factor impairing a narration—whether hidden or apparent—and its narrower technical definition . He also classified defects by their location in the chain of transmission (isnād) or the text (matn), evaluated their degree of impairment on a narration's authenticity, and detailed practical methodologies for uncovering hidden flaws, highlighting the comprehensive collation of transmission routes as a primary critical tool .
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List of Works
al-Ta'rif bi-'Ilm al-'Ilal (Introduction to the Science of Hadith Defects) is a treatise written to provide a systematic introduction to the principles, terminology, methodologies, and literature of hadith criticism concerning subtle and hidden defects ('ilal).