Al-Hakam
Al-Hakam is the Judge — the One whose verdict is final and whose ruling no court can review.
Name 28 of 99
الْحَكَمُ
Al-Hakam
The Judge
- In Arabic
- الْحَكَمُ
- Transliteration
- Al-Hakam
- Position in the list
- Name 28 of 99
Al-Hakam — The Judge
What the name means
A hakam in Arabic is the arbitrator both sides accept. Applied to Allah it means more: not the judge chosen from among others, but the only one whose judgement is binding without appeal.
The Quran frames it as a rhetorical question — shall I seek other than Allah as judge, when it is He who sent down the Book to you explained in detail?
Al-Hakam in the Quran
The verse below contains this name. Each reference is checked against the Arabic text of the Quran before it is published, so Al-Hakam really is in the verse it is cited from.
أَفَغَيْرَ ٱللَّهِ أَبْتَغِى حَكَمًۭا وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ مُفَصَّلًۭا ۚ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُۥ مُنَزَّلٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّكَ بِٱلْحَقِّ ۖ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْمُمْتَرِينَ
[Say], "Then is it other than Allah I should seek as judge while it is He who has revealed to you the Book explained in detail?" And those to whom We [previously] gave the Scripture know that it is sent down from your Lord in truth, so never be among the doubters.
Surah Al-Anam 6:114Read the full surah →
How reliable is the list of ninety-nine?
That Allah has ninety-nine names is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and both are agreed upon. The specific enumeration — this list of ninety-nine — comes from a narration in Jami' at-Tirmidhi that at-Tirmidhi himself called gharib, and which many hadith scholars grade weak; several held that a narrator compiled the names by searching the Quran and Sunnah. Classical scholars including al-Khattabi, Ibn Hazm, al-Qurtubi and al-Ghazali compiled lists of their own that differ from it. None of this touches the names themselves, every one of which is established elsewhere; it means the count of exactly these ninety-nine is a scholarly arrangement rather than a revealed roster, and Allah's names are not limited to them.
Questions about Al-Hakam
Al-Hakam (الْحَكَمُ) means "The Judge". Like every one of the ninety-nine names, it describes an attribute of Allah rather than serving as a label — the names are how the Quran teaches who Allah is.
Yes. This page cites 1 verse containing Al-Hakam, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Hakam" — and ask for what that attribute gives. The Quran instructs it directly: "To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call upon Him by them" (7:180).
It is number 28 in the well-known list. The order comes from the narration of at-Tirmidhi and is a scholarly arrangement, so numbering can differ slightly between printed lists — the names themselves do not.