The word · Hadith
العِلَّة
Illah
A hidden flaw in a hadith that looks sound on the surface, found only by expert comparison.
Also written · Illa · Ilat · Ilah · Ilal · Ilal al-hadith · Mu'allal · Muallal · Ma'lul · Malul · Hidden defect · Illah in hadith · Illat
The meaning
What Illah means in Islam
A hadith carrying one is called mu'allal. The defects are subtle: a report actually stopped at a Companion but raised to the Prophet by one narrator, or two chains quietly merged into one. Detecting them took men who had memorised the variants of thousands of chains, and the great books on ilal, such as those of Ibn Abi Hatim and al-Daraqutni, are among the most demanding in the field.
Evidence · Editorial · Our own summary, drawn from the sources named
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- ShadhdhAn acceptable narrator contradicts someone stronger, so his version is set aside as odd.الشَّاذّ
- SanadThe chain itself, the line of narrators supporting a text, used almost interchangeably with isnad.السَّنَد
- MatnThe actual wording of a hadith, the part that comes after the chain of narrators.المَتْن
- SahihA hadith that meets all five conditions of authenticity, with nothing missing and no hidden flaw.الصَّحِيح
More from Hadith
- AdalahThe uprightness of a narrator: sane, adult, Muslim, not openly sinful, not known for shameful habits.العَدَالَة
- GharibA hadith narrated by only one person at some point in its chain.الغَرِيب
- IsnadThe chain of narrators who carried a hadith, listed name by name back to its source.الإِسْنَاد
- MatrukA report from a narrator the scholars abandoned, usually one accused of lying or of gross error.المَتْرُوك
- MursalA Tabi'i quotes the Prophet directly, leaving out the Companion who actually heard it.المُرْسَل
- Riwayah bi al-Ma'naNarrating a hadith in one's own words while keeping its meaning, rather than the exact wording.الرِّوَايَةُ بِالمَعْنَى