32. Al - Haleem

Allah’s name Al-Haleem— The Most Forbearing, The Calm Abiding, The Most Kind and Gentle— occurs eleven times in the Quran. 

He is the One who keeps on bestowing blessings, both visible and hidden, even though we disobey Him. Al-Haleem can punish us instantly, yet how often He grants us respite in a mild and serene manner, giving us the chance to turn back to Him!

Most Forbearing, Calm Abiding, Most Kind and Serene

Haleem comes from the root Haa-laam-meem, which points three main meanings. 
The first main meaning is to be forbearing, lenient and to be forgiving 
The second is to be calm and serene, and
The third main meaning is to be not hasty and exhibit moderation.

This root appears 21 times in the Quran in two derived forms. Examples of these forms are ahlaamin (dreams), al-huluma (puberty), ahlaamuhum (their minds), and haleemin (forbearing).

Linguistically, the concept of hilm refers to the patience that arises from a sense of deep serenity and lenience and the concept of sabr points to the patience that arises by self-restraint and enduring something without complaint. Al-Haleem: . . . observes disobedience to Him, yet anger doesn’t incite Him, nor does wrath seize Him, nor do haste and recklessness move Him to rush to take vengeance even though He’s utterly capable of doing that. [Al-Ghazali]

Al-Haleem Himself says: If you loan Allah a goodly loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you. And Allah is Most Appreciative and Forbearing [Quran, 64:17]. . . And Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing. [Quran, 2:225]

Why does Al-Haleem delay punishment?

Al-Haleem Himself says: And if Allah were to punish people for what they have earned, He would not leave upon the earth any creature. But He gives them respite for a specified term. [Quran, 35:45] Al-Haleem can delay a punishment to give you time to return to Him, seek His forgiveness, and change your ways, because He is forbearing. He can even cancel your punishment altogether. Isn’t Al-Haleem acting out His love for us in an amazing way?

The hilm of people versus the hilm of Allah

Imagine that you got caught doing something bad, but the person let’s it slide and doesn’t punish you or embarrass you. Would you feel embarrassment, relief, and gratitude, telling them you’re not going to do it again and be grateful for their forbearance? What about Allah? Every single day we do things we shouldn’t, and in most instances He lets it go. Because He is Al-Haleem, His hilm is far above any forbearance a human being can ever show.

A beautiful similitude: parents and children

The parental system teaches us about Al-Haleem; the father and mother don’t have any rancour or hatred towards their children. In fact, they’re ready to sacrifice everything for their happiness. In this context Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allah, and there was a woman among the prisoners who was searching (for her child). When she found her child she embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messenger of Allah said to us, ‘Do you think that this woman would throw her child in the fire? We said, No, by Allah, not if she is able not to. The Messenger of Allah said, Allah is more merciful to His slaves than this woman is to her child. [Al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] Who embedded the great mercy and tenderness in a loving mother’s heart? Allah Al-Haleem.

How Can You Live by This Name?

1. Be forbearing to others: contemplate and practice.
No matter your temper, everyone can practice developing forbearance. The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to Ashajj ‘Abdu’l-Qays: You have two qualities which Allah loves: forbearance and steadiness. [Muslim] Is it forbearance when you let it slide once or twice but explode the third time because you have so much rancour inside you? Many relationships get destroyed because of moments of rage. Hilm is when you’re in a position to show your anger but still hold it back. How? Let Al-Haleem inspire you. Another way is to simulate forbearance for the sake of Al-Haleem, even though you feel enraged. Tell yourself: I’m suppressing my anger because I love Him and seek His Love, because I want to be close to Him, and because I would like to obey His messenger.

2. Don’t take advantage of the hilm of Allah.
Al-Haleem says to the people who inherited a garden but didn’t let the poor benefit from it: Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. [Quran, 68:33] This punishment was a wake-up call for them and a mercy, because they realized their mistake. If Allah had allowed them to do as they wanted, their punishment in the Hereafter would be unforeseen. So know that Al-Haleem did set rules out for you and never take advantage of His forbearance.

3. Show a good example to a sinful person.
Never be arrogant to a sinning person and try to advise him gently and by showing a good example. Think to yourself: such a sinful person may, one day, turn to Al-Haleem with sincere repentance and become better and dearer to Allah than I am. Only put a person in check for the sake of Allah, so that they are made aware of the consequences of their actions and return to Allah.

4. Be grateful for the hilm of Allah.
Just like you would be grateful to anyone who overlooks your faults and mistakes, recognize the extreme and intense forbearance of Al-Haleem towards you and return to Him after you sin. And as a way of being thankful to al-Haleem for His forbearance, remember to train yourself to be forbearing.

5. Make dua for hilm.
Make dua to Al-Haleem, asking Him for His forbearance for yourself and your loved ones. And ask Him to forgive you, because only He can protect you from His justified anger.

There are many attributes that are similar when reading the Allah name. For example, Al Ghaffar, Al Ghaffur, Al Haleem, Al-Afuw and At Tawwab all seem to belong to the concept of forgiveness. Like while explaining a particular thing to someone, you give a similar sort of examples that the person can easily understand. Likewise, forgiveness can be deemed as one subject. Allah has many different ways of attributes to deal with different hierarchy of sins. It should be kept in mind that one attribute of Allah should not be deemed inferior to the other attribute.

If an individual commits a sin, Allah the Almighty knows that we have committed one, and we cannot think that He might have not seen or noticed. The Allah name Al-Halim is the name given to Allah because He is the most Clement and Forbearing, Allah gives time to His beloved human so that they can ask for forgiveness gives respite. Though Allah punishes His human but is not in haste to punish them. Allah does not punish His human but shows them a tough time where they may learn what they did was wrong and in return the human automatically bows before Allah and asks for His forgiveness and Mercy. No matter how large or small a sin is, Allah open has heartily forgiven His mankind. Every day how many sins do we commit in our daily life? Are we being punished for it? No, we are not, why? Because our Lord is the most Merciful, He watches His mankind committing sins every day but still loves them, still gives them another chance to start a new day. Taking an example of our daily life we can see how Indulgent and Forbearing Allah are, and we now also know why He has Al-Halim as one of His names.

O Allah Al-Haleem, we know You are the Most Forbearing and You delay and cancel Your Punishment with great Wisdom. Protect us from taking advantage of Your Hilm by persisting in bad deeds, aid us to return to You after we sin, adorn us with gratitude for Your Forbearance and patience in hardships, make us of those who are forbearing and kind to others, never be arrogant and help us to develop hilm in times of anger, ameen!

One of the 99 names of Allah the Almighty is Al Halim. The name has traditionally been mentioned in the Holy Book of Quran, in the Sunnah (Prophet’s sayings), and many other places. One can find Al-Halim mentioned in different Quranic verses, and it means that Allah is the most indulgent and forbearing. 

The name Al-Halim was paired with other names of Allah and one such is an example is Al Ghaffar. If paired with Al Ghaffar then the name would mean the most Forbearing, the most forgiving one and the most Merciful. Allah loves His human kind more than anything else. No matter how many times a human commits a mistake, but their Lord will always forgive them and guide them to the right path. Allah knows everything and nothing were hidden from Him, despite our satanic acts, He the most Merciful forgives with an open heart and protects us.

And Allah knows best.