Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The Name of Allah, “Al-Hakim” (The All-Wise), is one of His Most Beautiful Names. It encompasses the meanings of judgment, perfecting and mastering creation, and profound wisdom. Allah, Exalted is He, is the Judge in His creation and His command; He perfects everything He has created and does not do or legislate anything in vain. Rather, all His actions and rulings are based upon perfect wisdom.
“Al-Hakim” follows the Arabic pattern faʿīl, which can sometimes carry the meaning of “one who does an action,” so its meaning here is the Judge.
Allah, Exalted is He, is the Judge over His creation, and no one can repel or oppose His universal and divinely decreed judgment.
Allah, the Most High, says:
“Judgment belongs only to Allah. He relates the truth, and He is the best of those who decide.” [Al-Anʿām: 57]
And He says:
“Allah judges, and there is none who can overturn His judgment, and He is swift in reckoning.” [Al-Raʿd: 41]
He is also the Judge over His servants through His revealed legislation. No judgment is better than His judgment, and no judgment is more just or complete than His.
Allah, the Most High, says:
“Follow what has been revealed to you and be patient until Allah judges, and He is the best of judges.” [Yūnus: 109]
“Al-Hakim” may also mean the One Who perfects and masters, meaning the One who perfected the creation of things, made them precise, and determined them in the best manner.
Allah, the Most High, says:
“The work of Allah, Who perfected everything. Indeed, He is All-Aware of what you do.” [Al-Naml: 88]
Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, did not create anything randomly or pointlessly. Rather, He created everything with precise determination and perfection, and placed everything in the position required by His wisdom.
Al-Khattabi, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that perfecting the creation of things refers to perfecting their management and determining them appropriately. This does not mean that all creatures are equal in strength or outward beauty. Rather, every creature was created in the form necessitated by wisdom and was given the characteristics and qualities appropriate to its function and purpose of creation.
Allah, the Most High, says:
“Who perfected everything He created.” [Al-Sajdah: 7]
Another meaning of “Al-Hakim” is the Possessor of Wisdom.
Wisdom means placing things in their proper places and conducting matters in the manner appropriate to them.
Thus, Allah, Exalted is He, does not create anything pointlessly, does not command or prohibit anything without wisdom, and does not decree anything without wisdom.
He, Glorified and Exalted be He, says:
“We did not create the heaven and the earth and everything between them without purpose. That is the assumption of those who disbelieve. So woe to those who disbelieve because of the Fire.” [Ṣād: 27]
And He says:
“Did you then think that We created you in vain and that you would not be returned to Us?” [Al-Muʾminūn: 115]
Thus, all of Allah’s actions and rulings are based upon wisdom, even though a person may understand some of their wisdom while other aspects remain hidden from him.
These meanings are not contradictory. Rather, they are interconnected meanings that complement one another. Allah, Exalted is He, is:
For this reason, Shaykh Al-Saʿdi, may Allah have mercy on him, said regarding the meaning of “Al-Hakim” that Allah possesses supreme wisdom in His creation and His command. He does not create anything pointlessly, nor does He legislate anything without purpose. He has judgment in this world and the Hereafter, and He judges between His servants through His legislation, decree, and recompense.
Believing that Allah is Al-Hakim (The All-Wise) instills in the Muslim confidence in Allah’s judgment and decree, even when he does not understand the wisdom behind certain events.
A person may encounter something he dislikes and fail to perceive the wisdom behind it. However, his ignorance of the wisdom does not mean that there is no wisdom, because Allah knows what is best for His servants and is the Most Wise in His decree and management.
Therefore, the believer should submit to Allah’s wisdom, think well of Him, and know that whatever Allah decrees never falls outside His knowledge and wisdom.
“Al-Hakim” is an established Name among the Most Beautiful Names of Allah, and it encompasses three complementary meanings: He is the Judge whose judgment cannot be resisted; the One Who perfects His creation and determines it with precision; and the Possessor of profound wisdom, who does not create, legislate, or decree anything pointlessly.
Everything Allah does or legislates is based upon wisdom, whether the servant understands that wisdom or does not understand it.
And Allah knows best.