According to the Qurʾān, [Sūrah iv. 39], domestic quarrels should be settled by an arbitrator:—“If ye fear a breach between the two (i.e. husband and wife) then appoint an arbitrator from his people, and an arbitrator from her people.”
Al-Ḥakam, the Arbitrator, is one of the ninety-nine attributes of God, although it is not so employed in the Qurʾān.
ḤĀKIM (حاكم). “A just ruler.” The term Aḥkamu ʾl-Ḥākimīn, “the Most Just of Rulers,” is used for God, Qurʾān, [Sūrah xcv. 8]; also, K͟hairu ʾl-Ḥākimīn, i.e. “Best of Rulers,” [Sūrah vii. 85].
ḤAKĪM (حكيم), pl. ḥukamāʾ; Heb. חָכָם. Lit. “A wise person.” (1) A philosopher. (2) A doctor of medicine. (3) Al-Ḥakīm, “The Wise One.” One of the ninety-nine attributes of God. It frequently occurs in the Qurʾān, e.g. [Sūrah ii. 123]: “Thou art the Mighty and the Wise!”
ḤĀL (حال). A state, or condition. A term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for those thoughts and conditions which come upon the heart of man without his intention or desire, such as sorrow, or fear, or pleasure, or desire, or lust. If these conditions are stable and intransient, they are called malkah or maqām; but if they are transient and fleeting, they are called ḥāl. (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dictionary of Ṣūfī Terms.)
A state of ecstasy induced by continued contemplation of God. It is considered a divine gift and a sure prognostication of speedily arriving at “The Truth.”
Professor Palmer says (Oriental Mysticism, p. 66), “This assiduous contemplation of startling metaphysical theories is exceedingly attractive to an Oriental mind, and not unfrequently produces a state of mental excitement akin to the phenomena observed during the recent religious revivals. Such ecstatic state is considered a sure prognostication of direct illumination of the heart by God, and constitutes the fifth stage (in the mystic journey) called ḥāl or ecstasy.”
ḤALĀL (حلال). Lit. “That which is untied or loosed.” That which is lawful, as distinguished from ḥarām, or that which is unlawful.
AL-ḤALĪM (الحليم). “The Clement.” One of the ninety-nine attributes of God. It occurs in the Qurʾān, e.g. [Sūrah ii. 225]: “God is forgiving and clement.”
ḤAMĀʾIL (حمائل). Lit. “Things suspended.” An amulet or charm. [[AMULET].]