الْحَلِيمُ
Al-Halim
The Forbearing
What Al-Halim Means
Al-Halim comes from the root ha-lam-mim: forbearance — to restrain anger and delay deserved punishment despite having full power to strike at once. The Quran pairs this name with forgiveness again and again: after the verse on oaths, ‘Allah is Ghafur, Halim’ (2:225); after teaching kind speech over hurtful charity, ‘Allah is Free of need, Halim’ (2:263). His forbearance is not weakness or indifference: every creature glorifies Him (17:44), yet He still gives time to those who deny Him, feeding and sheltering them while they disobey. Scholars explain that hilm joins power with patience — only the one who can punish can truly forbear. For the believer, the name is both comfort and warning: the delay of punishment is a door for repentance, not a sign of approval — and the Prophet ﷺ himself called upon Al-Halim by name in the dua of distress.
Al-Halim in the Quran
لَّا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِٱللَّغْوِ فِىٓ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا كَسَبَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ
“Allah does not hold you accountable for what is laghw (ineffectual) in your oaths, but He holds you accountable for what your hearts have produced. Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing.”
۞ قَوْلٌ مَّعْرُوفٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِّن صَدَقَةٍ يَتْبَعُهَآ أَذًى ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَنِىٌّ حَلِيمٌ
“A graceful word and forgiving is better than charity followed by causing hurt. Allah is All-Independent, Forbearing.”
تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ ٱلسَّبْعُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ ۚ وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِۦ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا
“All the seven skies and the earth and all those therein extol His purity. And there is not a single thing that does not extol His purity along with His praise, but you do not understand their extolling. Surely He is Forbearing, Most-Forgiving.”
What the Prophet ﷺ Taught Us
THE FOUNDATION OF THE 99 NAMES
“Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise.”
“Narrated Ibn `Abbas: The Prophet (ﷺ) used to invoke Allah at the time of distress, saying, “La ilaha illal-lahu Al-`Azim, al- Halim, La ilaha illal-lahu Rabbu-s-samawati wal-ard wa Rabbu-l-arsh il-azim.””
Calling Upon Allah by This Name
Allah Himself commands us to call upon Him by His beautiful names:
وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَٱدْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِىٓ أَسْمَـٰٓئِهِۦ ۚ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
“For Allah there are the most beautiful names. So, call Him by them, and leave those who deviate in (the matter of) His names. They shall be recompensed for what they have been doing.”
Allah commands us to call upon Him by His names (7:180), so you may say, in your own words: ‘Ya Halim — O Forbearing — You have not seized me for my sins; grant me respite to repent and do not punish me for what I have done.’ The Prophet ﷺ turned to this name in distress, and its lesson is gratitude for borrowed time: every day of respite is a gift from Al-Halim, to be spent returning to Him — not presuming upon His patience.
Quran translations: Mufti Taqi Usmani. Hadith texts and gradings: the DeenHub hadith library. Every reference on this page is from the Quran or from hadith graded Sahih or Hasan.