Sakinah ( ar, سكينة ) is a word derived from ''sukun'' ( ar, سـكـن, "peace", "serenity" or " tranquility"). It appears in the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

Usage in the Qur’an

''Sakina'' is the Spirit of Tranquility, or Peace of Reassurance. It is a derivative of the original word "Sakina" which is mentioned in the Qur'an as having descended upon the Islamic Prophet ( ar, نَـبِي, '' nabi'')

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

and the believers as they made an unarmed

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

, and were faced with an opposing military force of the Quraysh, with whom Muhammad struck the

Treaty of Hudaybiyah The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah ( ar, صُلح ٱلْحُدَيْبِيَّة, Ṣulḥ Al-Ḥudaybiyyah) was an event that took place during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was a pivotal treaty between Muhammad, representing the state of ...

. "He it is Who sent down the ''sakina'' into the hearts of the believers that they might add faith unto their faith" (48:4). Another Qur'anic association with the concord of dwellings in peace coincides with the attribution of the ''Shekhinah'' to matrimonial concord under the tent of Sarah: "And God gave you your houses as a quiescent place ( ar, سَـكَـنًـا, ''sakanan'') (16:80). ''Sakinah'' is further mentioned in the following verse: "While the Unbelievers got up in their hearts heat and cant - the heat and cant of ignorance,- Allah sent down ''Sakīnaṫahu'' ( ar, سـكـيـنـتـه, His Tranquility) to his Messenger and to the Believers, and made them stick close to the command of self-restraint; and well were they entitled to it and worthy of it. And Allah has full knowledge of all things" (48:26).

Sakinah and Shekhinah

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notes: "The sakinah it will also be recalled, seems to be related to the Hebrew

Shekhinah Shekhinah, also spelled Shechinah ( Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה ''Šəḵīnā'', Tiberian: ''Šăḵīnā'') is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God, as it were, in a pla ...

( hbo, שכינה), the term for

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

's presence in the world." Another Qur'anic verse portrays ''sakinah'' as reassurance: "Allah's Good Pleasure was on the Believers when they swore Fealty to thee under the Tree: He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down Sakina - tranquillity (alssakeenata) to them; and He rewarded them with a speedy Victory" (48:18). The root of the word is ''sa-ka-nah'' which means "dwelled" or "remained in place". This further supports the association with the Shekhinah as "indwelling". The fact that the word is preceded by "al" (the) shows that it does not denote a name, but has an abstract meaning. Sufi writings,The Sufi Paradigm of Peace-Making
in expounding the inner peace of Sufi contemplation, which dwells in a sanctuary or in the heart, confirm the association with both Sakinah and the Shekhinah. Sufi reference to ''sa-ka-na'' as meaning both stillness and habitation adds to the identity with Shekhinah's indwelling nature.

References

{{Reflist Islamic terminology Quranic words and phrases