Sakina is an Arabic word derived from "Sakoon", meaning "peace" or "tranquility". It appears in the Qur'an.
Sakina is the Spirit of Tranquility, or Peace of Reassurance. Sakina is mentioned in the Quran as having descended upon
MuhammadMuhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh , is the founder of the religion of Islam [ إِسْلامْ ] and is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of , the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of Islamic prophets as taught by the...
and the believers as they made an unarmed pilgrimage to Mecca, and were faced with an opposing military force of the
QurayshQuraysh or Quraish was the dominant tribe of Mecca upon the appearance of the religion of Islam...
, with whom Muhammad struck the Treaty of Hudaybiyah.
Sakina is an Arabic word derived from "Sakoon", meaning "peace" or "tranquility". It appears in the Qur'an.
Usage in the Qur'an
Sakina is the Spirit of Tranquility, or Peace of Reassurance. Sakina is mentioned in the Quran as having descended upon
MuhammadMuhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh , is the founder of the religion of Islam [ إِسْلامْ ] and is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of , the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of Islamic prophets as taught by the...
and the believers as they made an unarmed pilgrimage to Mecca, and were faced with an opposing military force of the
QurayshQuraysh or Quraish was the dominant tribe of Mecca upon the appearance of the religion of Islam...
, with whom Muhammad struck the Treaty of Hudaybiyah. "He it is Who sent down the sakina into the hearts of the believers that they might add faith unto their faith" (48:4)
Sakina and Shekhinah
Karen ArmstrongKaren Armstrong MRSL is a British author of numerous works on comparative religion, who first rose to prominence with her highly successful A History of God...
notes: "The sakina it will also be recalled, seems to be related to the Hebrew
ShekhinahShekhinah is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew language word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling presence of God Shekhinah (alternative transliterations Shekinah, Shechinah, Shekina, Shechina, Schechinah, שכינה) is the English...
, the term for God’s presence in the world."
Another Quranic verse portrays sakina 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-na 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 , in expounding the inner peace of Sufi contemplation, which dwells in a sanctuary or in the heart, confirm the association with both Sakina and the Shekhinah. Sufi reference to
sa-ka-na as meaning both stillness and habitation adds to the identity with Shekhinah's indwelling nature.
Another Quranic 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 (sakanan)." (16:80)
Sakina 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 His Sakina - tranquility (
sakīnatahu) 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)