Hukam

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Hukam (Pāñjābī, ‘order’ from Arab.). Sikh concept of divine order. For Gurū Nānak and subsequent Sikh thinkers, hukam is a fundamental concept, recurring in the Ādi Granth and prominent in the Japjī Sāhib, according to which nothing is exempt from God's hukam.

For Sikhs today hukam or vāk is the daily practice prescribed in the Rahit Maryādā of consulting the scriptures. The Ādi Granth is opened at random and the portion appearing at the top of the left-hand page is read.