Allah calls Himself Al-Hakeem— The All-Wise, The Judicious— on 33 occasions in the Quran.
Al-Hakeem is the One with ultimate wisdom, who did not create and legislate anything in vain.
Al-Hakeem carries out His divine will with His perfect wisdom: He judges, decrees, inflicts, and relieves in the most rightful way, place, and time.
He is all-wise in His creating and perfecting, in His commanding, His sayings and actions!
The All-Wise, The Ultimate Ruler and Designer
Hakeem and Haakim come from the root haa-kaaf-meem, which carries three main meanings.
The first meaning is to restrict or prevent something or someone.
The second main meaning of this root is that of being wise and of knowing the true nature of things,and
The third is to pass judgement, to decide and put matters in correct places.
This root appears 210 times in the Quran in 13 derived forms. Examples of these forms are yahkumu (will judge),hukman (wisdom, judgement), and al hikmah (the wisdom).
This attribute of Allah shows that He legislates rules to turn mankind from wrongdoing, all His rules are for our own benefit.
Al-Hakeem does His work most accurately and perfectly, as He knows how to calculate, measure and design in perfection.
Al-Hakeem Himself says: O Musa! Verily, it is I, Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. [Quran, 27:9] … Alif Lam Ra: A Book, the Verses thereof are perfected and then elaborated from the Him, Who is All Wise, Well-Acquainted (with all things) [Quran, 11: 1] Falsehood cannot come to it (the Quran) from before it or behind it; (it is) sent down by the All Wise One, the One Worthy of all Praise.[Quran, 41:42]
Knowledge, Power and Wisdom
‘Ilm (knowledge) and hikmah (wisdom) are two separate attributes which have to be linked together for success. Of what benefit is knowledge if you do not use it with wisdom? And how far do you get if you are wise in your ways, but you do not have knowledge? Allah’s name Al-Hakeem is often paired with Al-‘Aleem (The All-Knowing). The other most often repeated couple is Al-Hakeem with Al-‘Azeez (The Most-Powerful). This shows us that Allah‘azza wajal uses both His knowledge and power in the wisest way to guide us through the life of this world, testing us with tailor-made trials, challenges and opportunities for us to proof our faith in Al-Hakeem.
How Can We Live By This Name?
1. Trust in Al-Hakeem.
If Al-Hakeemdecides you should lose or gain something, there is a wisdom behind it. If something happens that displeases you it would be unwise to be unhappy with Al-Hakeem. You lost money, or even a person, or didn’t get what you so badly wanted? How many times in life have you looked back and seen the wisdom behind things that happened to you, things which may have greatly saddened you at the time? Wisdom is to trust the wisdom of Al-Hakeem at all times, no matter how hard it may seem!And Allah is All-Knowing, All Wise.[Quran, 60:10]
2. Stick to the laws of Al-Hakeem.
All the rules of Al-Hakeem (the sharee’ah) are set to reform the creation and not to cause hardship in life. In other words; His rules are best for you. Al-Hakeem made you and thus knows exactly what you need to succeed. If we don’t understand His rulings, we should not blame the rules, but our own understanding. So focus and reflect and know that the ruling only belongs to Al-Hakeem and ask Him to make you of those who value His laws above man-made laws in your daily life.
3. Reflect on the perfection of Al-Hakeem’s work.
Remind yourself of Al-Hakeem seeing His wisdom reflected in His creation. The oxygen, the salt levels in your blood are all perfectly measured, if they would be slightly different you would die instantly. Take the time to look around you (and at yourself) and realize the beautiful and perfect wisdom of Al-Hakeem. It is He Who made everything that He has created perfect, and began the creation of man from clay. [Quran, 32:7]
4. Make the Book of Al-Hakeem your companion.
The attribute of hikmah is one you should strive for too. Derive your wisdom from your knowledge of Allah. Where can we find this knowledge? In the Quran and the Sunnah. So make the Quran your close companion, by reciting it, understanding it and acting upon it. Ya Seen. By the Quran, “Al-Hakeem” (i.e. full of wisdom) [Quran, 36: 1] The more you follow the commands of the All-Wise, the wiser you will become!
5 . Have hikmah in your dealings.
Use your blessings with wisdom by using them to gain the pleasure of Al-Hakeem. How many of have wealth but waste it? How many of us have health, but we misuse it? Being wise is using your intelligence, wealth, time, and skills to please Al-Hakeem. The same goes for calling other people to Al-Hakeem— do so with hikmah!
6. Ask Al-Hakeem for understanding.
Of all things you daily ask of Allah, make sure you keep asking Him for understanding of the deen of Islam.
Al-Hakeem says: And whosoever is granted wisdom is indeed granted abundant good. [Quran, 2:269]
O Allah, Al-Hakeem, we know that You are the One who possesses ultimate wisdom. Make us of those who are content with Your decisions. Adorn us with wisdom in dealing with ourselves and others and with spreading Your message. Make us reflect on Your wisdom by looking at creation. Grant us understanding of Your book and guidelines and actions which reflect this understanding. Ameen!
Wallahu ta’alaa ‘alem.
And Allah knows Best.