Al-Haleem

Haleem is derived from Hilm which means tolerance or indulgence.

Generally, Hilm is a quality that allows a person to keep calm in unfavourable moments. He does not act under the influence of anger nor does he become upset. He does not allow himself to get carried away by the most irritating situations.

When we say Allah Al-Haleem, it means that Allah Ta'ala does not immediately take to task the sins and mistakes that a person commits on earth. People are living on the earth that Allah has created and are making use of whatever they need with that which Allah Ta'ala has put on earth. There is nothing that they are using that does not belong to Allah Ta'ala. Despite all this, they worship someone else. They express their gratefulness to the numerous deities which they made with their hands and that also from the materials that Allah Ta'ala has created. There are those who do not even accept the existence of Allah Ta'ala. There are those who accept Him but they attribute all kinds of things which are not worthy of Him to Him. Allah Ta'ala is seeing all this and He is seeing how Insaan is committing immorality, bestiality and stupidities. Men are taking men as spouse and women also do not hesitate to take women as spouse. Lack of modesty made this Insaan fall into lowliness to such a degree that he allowed himself to cohabit with animals. But Allah Ta'ala is granting this Insaan respite in order to repent.

And it is very easy to have the forgiveness of Allah Ta'ala. A person may have committed all types of sins for a century. But it is not difficult to be pardoned. No sooner that he asks for forgiveness from Allah Ta'ala sincerely, that Allah Ta'ala forgives him right away regardless of the seriousness of his sins.

Meditation on the attribute of Al-Haleem leads Insaan to be grateful to Allah Ta'ala and gratefulness in turn leads to total submission and complete obedience.

[English Version of "Al-Haleem" – Al Jamiat – Vol.7 No.3]