Forbearance · a Light
One name of God means keeping your temper
Hilm is the quality of somebody who has the power to react and does not: deliberate, slow to anger, not easily provoked. Pre Islamic Arabs prized it as the opposite of jahl, which is usually translated as ignorance but in that setting means hot headedness, the readiness to be roused. Al-Halim is one of the names of God in the Qur'an, and it is repeatedly paired with al-Ghani, the one free of need. The pairing has a logic to it. Somebody who needs nothing from you has no reason to be provoked by you. The verse that pairs them is about not following a gift with a reminder of the favour.
Root h l m, forbearance
Source · Qur'an 2:263
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