Al-Halim

The One who is gentle in nature, abundant in forbearance, and who does not act with haste or anger. Allah Almighty says: "And know that Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing." (Al-Baqarah, 235) "And indeed, Allah is Knowing and Forbearing." (Al-Hajj, 59) "Indeed, He is Forbearing and Forgiving." (Fatir, 41) The word "al-Halim" occurs in 15 places in the Qur'an, and in eleven of them it is ascribed to Allah. The word is not used alone: in six verses it appears with "al-Ghafur," meaning the One who forgives all sins; in three verses with "al-Alim," meaning the One who knows in truth; in one verse with "al-Ghani," meaning the One free of all need upon whom everything besides Him depends; and in one verse with "ash-Shakur," meaning the One who gives great reward for little good. Halim means gentle in character and pleasant of countenance. It means free of anger and full of patience. How gentle is the power of Allah Almighty, that He does not hasten to punish the servants who sin and spend from morning till night in denying Him, but grants them respite. This too is a great blessing for us — perhaps we will come to our senses and repent, and our Lord will forgive us. Al-Halim is the One who forgives sins and does not hasten in punishing, who is not overcome by anger, and whom the rebellion of the ignorant and the disobedient does not enrage. The name Halim is given to the one who forgives while having the power to punish; it is not given to one who forgives out of powerlessness. Allah is Al-Halim: the One who defers punishments or removes them entirely. The removal of punishment applies only to certain sinful Muslims who have deserved it; the disbelievers have no part in it. He does not hasten to punish those who deserve punishment but grants them time to repent. If He wills, He punishes immediately for sins that require immediate punishment. Yet His forbearance requires that time be given to sinners. Allah Almighty says: "And if Allah were to impose blame on the people for what they have earned, He would not leave upon the earth any creature. But He defers them for a specified term. And when their time comes, then indeed Allah has ever been, of His servants, Seeing." (Fatir, 45) As those who believe in our Lord Al-Halim, let us be gentle in nature, sweet in speech, cheerful of face and honeyed in word. Water is soft, yet it bores through rock. It climbs to the crown of dry trees and turns into blossom. Ibrahim's gentleness brought an end to Nimrod's reign. If Allah destroyed everyone we say "may Allah destroy" about, we would be left all alone. Let us say "Ya Halim." A reminder: Every Muslim who knows that his Lord is Forbearing toward those who disobey should act gently toward those who go against his instructions and oppose him, and should not hasten to punish. Just as you wish and love for your Lord to be gentle with you, be gentle in the same way with those under your care. By acting so you earn your Lord's pleasure and abundant reward. Allah Almighty says: "And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation — his reward is [due] from Allah. Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers." (Ash-Shura, 40) Whoever knows this name bears greater love for Allah, keeps his word and fulfils his promise. He conceals the faults he sees and violates no one's rights.

The noble name Al-Halim is recited 88 times as "Ya Halim, jalla jalaluhu" so that bad traits such as temper, irascibility and rage may come to an end, and so that one may become forbearing, gentle, mild-natured and of beautiful character. Whoever makes much remembrance with the noble name Al-Halim becomes forbearing in his authority, and his word becomes accepted and worthy of respect. Whoever writes the noble name Al-Halim on a piece of paper, washes it off with water and pours that water over any implement, its blessing becomes abundant. Whoever writes the noble name Al-Halim on a sheet of paper as a plaque and keeps it in a vehicle is kept safe from every kind of danger. Whoever writes the noble name Al-Halim upon a fruit and gives it to someone to eat, that person comes to love him with a very intense love and passion. It is never permissible to write it for purposes that are unlawful and forbidden.