الْحَلِيمُ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Al-Haleem
The Forbearing
Al-Haleem is the Forbearing. He delays the punishment of those who deserve it, and then He may forgive them. The verse given for it, 11:87, has the word said to Shu'aib by his people, as a taunt. For Allah the Quran uses it in other places, 35:41 among them: He holds up the heavens and the earth.
Key verse
﴿إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولَا ۚ وَلَئِن زَالَتَآ إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنۢ بَعْدِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا﴾Indeed, Allah ˹alone˺ keeps the heavens and the earth from falling apart. If they were to fall apart, none but Him could hold them up. He is truly Most Forbearing, All-Forgiving.
The scholar's text
The Forbearing, The One who delays the punishment for those who deserve it and then He might forgive them.
(قَالُوا يَا شُعَيْبُ أَصَلَاتُكَ تَأْمُرُكَ أَن نَّتْرُكَ مَا يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُنَا أَوْ أَن نَّفْعَلَ فِي أَمْوَالِنَا مَا نَشَاءُ ۖ إِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ الْحَلِيمُ الرَّشِيدُ ) هود 11: 87
(They asked ˹sarcastically˺, “O Shu’aib! Does your prayer command you that we should abandon what our forefathers worshipped or give up managing our wealth as we please? Indeed, you are such a tolerant, sensible man!”) Hud 11:87
It is mentioned 1 time in the Holy Quran
الحليم، الذي يؤخر العقوبة عمن يستحقها، ثم قد يغفر له.
(قَالُوا۟ يَـٰشُعَيْبُ أَصَلَوٰتُكَ تَأْمُرُكَ أَن نَّتْرُكَ مَا يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَآ أَوْ أَن نَّفْعَلَ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِنَا مَا نَشَـٰٓؤُا۟ ۖ إِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ ٱلْحَلِيمُ ٱلرَّشِيدُ) هود 11: 87
ورد في القرآن الكريم مرة واحدة.
Said to Shu'aib, in Mockery
The verse given here has the word, but not as a Name of Allah. In 11:87 the people of Midian answer the Prophet Shu'aib, and The Clear Quran marks their tone: they asked sarcastically. Ibn Abbas and others, as Ibn Kathir reports them, took it as the mockery of Allah's enemies. In al-Sa'di's paraphrase the jibe runs: so you are the man of forbearance and good sense, are you? They meant the opposite, folly and error. Then he turns it round. What they said in mockery was true: Shu'aib, peace be upon him, was the forbearing, the right-minded one. Allah Himself is called Forbearing in other verses, as below.
Arabic: إنك لأنت الحليم الرشيد
في الآية المذكورة هنا الكلمة، لكن لا على أنها اسم لله. فهي جواب قوم مدين لنبيهم شعيب، ونقل ابن كثير عن ابن عباس وغيره: «يقولون ذلك أعداء الله على سبيل الاستهزاء». وشرح السعدي تهكمهم: «أي: أئنك أنت الذي، الحلم والوقار، لك خلق، والرشد لك سجية، فلا يصدر عنك إلا رشد، ولا تأمر إلا برشد، ولا تنهى إلا عن غي، أي: ليس الأمر كذلك»، «وقصدهم أنه موصوف بعكس هذين الوصفين: بالسفه والغواية». ثم قلب الكلام عليهم فقال: «وهو عليه الصلاة والسلام الحليم الرشيد». ويصف القرآن الله تعالى بالحليم في آيات أخرى، منها الآتية.
Holding Up the Heavens and the Earth
Look at the key verse above. 35:41 is about the heavens and the earth, held so they do not fall. It ends on forbearance, which seems odd until al-Sa'di explains. He keeps them standing so that people learn how far His forbearance goes. Sinners are given time. Nobody is rushed to punishment. One command to the sky and it would stone them; one word to the earth and it would swallow them. The time has an end, though. Four verses on, 35:45 says He delays them for an appointed term. He gives respite, al-Sa'di puts it, but does not neglect, and when the term comes He repays each by what He knows of them, good or bad.
Arabic: إن الله يمسك السماوات والأرض أن تزولا
تقول آية فاطر: ﴿إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولَا ۚ وَلَئِن زَالَتَآ إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنۢ بَعْدِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا﴾، ولماذا تختم آية عن السماء والأرض بالحلم؟ قال السعدي إنه أبقاهما ليعلم الخلق عظيم سلطانه، «وليعلموا كمال حلمه ومغفرته، بإمهال المذنبين، وعدم معالجته للعاصين، مع أنه لو أمر السماء لحصبتهم، ولو أذن للأرض لابتلعتهم، ولكن وسعتهم مغفرته، وحلمه، وكرمه». والإمهال له أجل: ﴿وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى﴾، قال السعدي: «يمهلهم تعالى ولا يهملهم»، «فيجازيهم بحسب ما علمه منهم، من خير وشر».
Words the Heart Did Not Mean
﴿لَّا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِٱللَّغْوِ فِىٓ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا كَسَبَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ﴾Allah will not hold you accountable for unintentional oaths, but for what you intended in your hearts. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.
Oaths slip out in talk all the time. 2:225 lets them go and holds people to what their hearts intended, and al-Sa'di takes a rule from it: intention matters in speech as much as in action. Then the Name. Allah bears with the one who disobeys Him, he writes, covering his fault and letting it pass instead of rushing the punishment, though He could punish him and the man is in His hands.
Arabic: لا يؤاخذكم الله باللغو في أيمانكم
تخفف آية البقرة عن كل لسان: ﴿لَّا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِٱللَّغْوِ فِىٓ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا كَسَبَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ﴾، قال السعدي: «وإنما المؤاخذة على ما قصده القلب. وفي هذا دليل على اعتبار المقاصد في الأقوال، كما هي معتبرة في الأفعال». وقال في «حليم» إنه حليم بمن عصاه، «حيث لم يعاجله بالعقوبة، بل حلم عنه وستر، وصفح مع قدرته عليه، وكونه بين يديه».
The Ones Who Fled at Uhud
﴿إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْا۟ مِنكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْتَقَى ٱلْجَمْعَانِ إِنَّمَا ٱسْتَزَلَّهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ بِبَعْضِ مَا كَسَبُوا۟ ۖ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ﴾Indeed, those ˹believers˺ who fled on the day when the two armies met were made to slip by Satan because of their misdeeds. But Allah has pardoned them. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.
At Uhud, al-Baghawi says, some believers ran on the day the two armies met. 3:155 names the cause: Satan made them slip, through their own misdeeds. Then comes the pardon. Had they been called to account, says al-Sa'di, they would have been wiped out. So He waits, calls the sinner back, and takes back the one who repents as if no sin had happened.
Arabic: ولقد عفا الله عنهم
تذكر آية آل عمران من تولوا يوم التقى الجمعان، وهو يوم أحد كما قال البغوي، وقد استزلهم الشيطان ببعض ما كسبوا: ﴿وَلَقَدْ عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ﴾، قال السعدي: «ثم أخبر أنه عفا عنهم بعدما فعلوا ما يوجب المؤاخذة، وإلا فلو واخذهم لاستأصلهم». وقال في «حليم»: «لا يعاجل من عصاه، بل يستأني به، ويدعوه إلى الإنابة إليه، والإقبال عليه. ثم إن تاب وأناب قبل منه، وصيره كأنه لم يجر منه ذنب، ولم يصدر منه عيب».
A Trait Allah Loves
﴿وَمَا كَانَ ٱسْتِغْفَارُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ إِلَّا عَن مَّوْعِدَةٍ وَعَدَهَآ إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُۥٓ أَنَّهُۥ عَدُوٌّ لِّلَّهِ تَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُ ۚ إِنَّ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ لَأَوَّٰهٌ حَلِيمٌ﴾As for Abraham’s prayer for his father’s forgiveness, it was only in fulfilment of a promise he had made to him. But when it became clear to Abraham that his father was an enemy of Allah, he broke ties with him. Abraham was truly tender-hearted, forbearing.
People can have it too. 9:114 calls Abraham tender-hearted and forbearing. His father had threatened to stone him. Abraham's reply: peace be upon you, I will ask my Lord to forgive you. Al-Sa'di uses the scene to define the trait: mercy toward people, letting their slips go, not being stirred by the ignorant, not paying back a wrong. Ismail is the forbearing son of 37:101; there al-Sa'di adds patience, good character, a broad chest and pardoning whoever wrongs you. The Prophet ﷺ said to al-Ashajj of Abd al-Qays: “Indeed there are two traits in you that Allah loves: Forbearance, and deliberateness” (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2011, graded sahih by al-Albani).
Arabic: إن إبراهيم لأواه حليم
ومدح القرآن الحلم في البشر: ﴿إِنَّ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ لَأَوَّٰهٌ حَلِيمٌ﴾، قال السعدي: «أي: ذو رحمة بالخلق، وصفح عما يصدر منهم إليه، من الزلات، لا يستفزه جهل الجاهلين، ولا يقابل الجاني عليه بجرمه»، وذكر أن أباه قال له: لأرجمنك، فقال: سلام عليك سأستغفر لك ربي. ووصف إسماعيل بالحلم: ﴿فَبَشَّرْنَـٰهُ بِغُلَـٰمٍ حَلِيمٍ﴾، قال السعدي: «ووصف اللّه إسماعيل، عليه السلام بالحلم، وهو يتضمن الصبر، وحسن الخلق، وسعة الصدر والعفو عمن جنى». وقال النبي ﷺ لأشج عبد القيس: «إِنَّ فِيكَ خَصْلَتَيْنِ يُحِبُّهُمَا اللَّهُ الْحِلْمُ وَالأَنَاةُ» (جامع الترمذي 2011، صححه الألباني).
From the Sunnah
Indeed there are two traits in you that Allah loves: Forbearance, and deliberateness
إِنَّ فِيكَ خَصْلَتَيْنِ يُحِبُّهُمَا اللَّهُ الْحِلْمُ وَالأَنَاةُ
A du'a with this Name
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ الْحَلِيمُ الْكَرِيمُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ
None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, the Forbearing, the Most Generous; glory is to Allah the Lord of the Mighty Throne
Sunan Ibn Majah 3883, graded sahih by al-Albani: the opening of what the Prophet ﷺ said at times of distress, as Ibn Abbas reported
Related Names
Questions about Al-Haleem
What does Al-Haleem mean?
Al-Haleem is the Forbearing: He holds back the punishment from those who have earned it, and may then forgive them.
Is 11:87, the verse given for Al-Haleem, about Allah?
No. Shu'aib's people say it to him, mocking (Ibn Kathir and al-Sa'di on 11:87). The Name belongs to Allah in other verses, 35:41 and 2:225 among them.
Why does Allah not punish wrongdoers at once?
He gives them time, keeps providing for them and calls them to repent, so that He can forgive (al-Sa'di on 17:44). Without His forbearance, he adds, the heavens would fall.
What does forbearance mean in a person?
Patience, good character, a wide chest, and forgiving whoever wrongs you: that is al-Sa'di's list on 37:101.