Al-Hakam — The Impartial Judge
الْحَكَمُ
Name 28 of the ninety-nine. The Judge, The Ruler, His judgment is His Word
Allah is Al-Hakam (in Arabic: ٱلْحَكَمُ), The Giver of Justice.
The root
From the root ha-kaf-mim (ح ك م), which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to be wise, knowing the true nature of things, to pass judgment, to decide, pass a verdict, to judge and pass sentence, to prevent or restrain from wrongdoing or corruption, to turn someone back from wrongdoing or ignorance.
Reflection
A believer benefits in knowing that Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is Al-Hakam. Although it can be difficult to find in your heart to forgive a perpetrator, personal retribution is not always necessary, knowing justice will be served on the day of judgment. This is not meant with any malice. Perhaps whatever the person did, he atoned sincerely, and Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ sees and knows best.
But from an individual standpoint, if we understand and accept Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is Al-Hakam, it can be used as a tool to remain emotionally whole and to find forgiveness instead of seeking revenge. We share a beautiful quote by the writer Cormac McCarthy on forgiveness, "He knew that our enemies by contrast seem always with us.
The greater our hatred the more persistent the memory of them so that a truly terrible enemy becomes deathless. So that the man who has done you great injury or injustice makes himself a guest in your house forever. " This is similar to the idea that hate is a poison more deadly to the hater than the hated. وَٱتَّبِعْ مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ وَٱصْبِرْ حَتَّىٰ يَحْكُمَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ ٱلْحَـٰكِمِينَ Wattabi maa yoohaaa ilaika wasbir hattaa yahkumal laah; wa Huwa khairul haakimeen (section 11) English Translation:"And follow what is revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and be patient until Allah will judge.
org/surah-yunus/ayat-109/)) Another takeaway is we can strive to be impartial just as Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is impartial. It should increase our desire to raise our standards to be rational, objective, and righteous in our actions. To consistently make the right decision aligned with our values and deen.
Where it appears
[1] Hadith #19, 40 Hadith an-Nawawi,[2] Hisn al-Muslim 30,[3] Sahih (Darussalam) Jami at-Tirmidhi 1334