A Hukamnama, from the Persian for a royal command or edict, is, in contemporary Sikh practice, the "order of the day" obtained by opening the Guru Granth Sahib at random and reading the hymn found at the top of the left-hand page, taken as the Guru's guidance for the community that day. Because Sikhs regard their scripture not as a book but as the living, eternal Guru, this reading is understood as a direct communication of the Guru's will, received afresh each morning. The Hukamnama is read aloud after the morning prayers in the gurdwara, most authoritatively at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, whose daily Hukamnama is transmitted to Sikhs around the world, and it is also taken by individuals and families seeking direction at moments of decision or ceremony.
The practice rests on the central Sikh concept of hukam, the divine order or will that governs all things, submission to which is the essence of the spiritual life. To take the Hukamnama is to place oneself under that will, receiving the day's hymn not as chance but as the word addressed to one's need. Historically the term also named the written edicts issued by the Gurus and later Sikh authorities to the community, and this sense of an authoritative command from the Guru carries over into the daily scriptural reading that bears the name today.