Al-Baqarah 248 · At-Tawbah 26 and 40 · Al-Fath 4, 18 and 266 verses
Ayat as-Sakinah are the six verses in which the Quran mentions sakinah, the tranquility Allah sends down upon His Messenger and into the hearts of the believers: Al-Baqarah 248, At-Tawbah 26 and 40, Al-Fath 4, 18 and 26. Read them in Arabic with translation and tafsir, and listen to them verse by verse.
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248. And their prophet said to them, "Indeed, a sign of his kingship is that the chest will come to you in which is assurance97 from your Lord and a remnant of what the family of Moses and the family of Aaron had left, carried by the angels. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers."
26. Then Allāh sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers and sent down soldiers [i.e., angels] whom you did not see and punished those who disbelieved. And that is the recompense of the disbelievers.
40. If you do not aid him [i.e., the Prophet (ﷺ)] - Allāh has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah] as one of two,476 when they were in the cave and he [i.e., Muḥammad (ﷺ)] said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allāh is with us." And Allāh sent down His tranquility upon him and supported him with soldiers [i.e., angels] you did not see and made the word477 of those who disbelieved the lowest,478 while the word of Allāh479 - that is the highest. And Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise.
Notes
[476] The second was his companion, Abū Bakr.
[477] i.e., their claims and slogans.
[478] i.e., degraded and dishonored.
[479] "Lā ilāha ill-Allāh" ("There is no deity except Allāh").
4. It is He who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers that they would increase in faith along with their [present] faith. And to Allāh belong the soldiers of the heavens and the earth, and ever is Allāh Knowing and Wise.
18. Certainly was Allāh pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you, [O Muḥammad], under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquility upon them and rewarded them with an imminent conquest1514
Notes
[1514] That of Khaybar, which preceded the conquest of Makkah.
26. When those who disbelieved had put into their hearts chauvinism - the chauvinism of the time of ignorance. But Allāh sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers and imposed upon them the word of righteousness, and they were more deserving of it and worthy of it. And ever is Allāh, of all things, Knowing.
“The essence of sakinah is the reassurance, dignity and calm that Allah sends down into the heart of His servant when it is shaken by intense fear, so that afterwards it is not disturbed by what befalls it; it brings him more faith, stronger certainty and steadfastness. That is why Allah, glorified be He, tells of sending it down upon His Messenger and the believers at times of anxiety and turmoil: the day of the Hijrah, when he and his companion were in the cave with the enemy above their heads (had one of them looked beneath his feet, he would have seen them); the day of Hunayn, when they turned and fled before the might of the disbelievers, no one turning back for anyone; and the day of al-Hudaybiyah, when their hearts were shaken by the disbelievers imposing their will on them and by having to accept their terms, which souls could not bear…”
Arabic text
«وأصل السكينة هي الطمأنينة والوقار والسكون الذي ينزله الله في قلب عبده عند اضطرابه من شدة المخاوف، فلا ينزعج بعد ذلك لما يرد عليه، ويوجب له زيادة الإيمان، وقوة اليقين، والثبات، ولهذا أخبر سبحانه عن إنزالها على رسوله وعلى المؤمنين في مواضع القلق والاضطراب كيوم الهجرة، إذ هو وصاحبه في الغار، والعدو فوق رءوسهم، لو نظر أحدهم إلى ما تحت قدميه لرآهما، وكيوم حنين حين ولوا مدبرين من شدة بأس الكفار لا يلوي أحد منهم على أحد، وكيوم الحديبية حين اضطربت قلوبهم من تحكم الكفار عليهم، ودخولهم تحت شروطهم التي لا تحملها النفوس…»
Ibn al-Qayyim, Madarij as-Salikin
He also reports about his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah:
“Whenever matters became hard for Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, he would recite the verses of sakinah. I heard him speak of a tremendous ordeal that befell him during an illness, which minds cannot bear: a struggle against devilish spirits that appeared to him at that time, while his strength was weak. He said: ‘When it became severe for me, I said to my relatives and those around me: recite the verses of sakinah. Then that state left me, and I sat up with nothing wrong with me.’ I too have tried reciting these verses when the heart is troubled by what comes upon it, and I found them to have a great effect in calming and reassuring it.”
Arabic text
«وكان شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية رحمه الله إذا اشتدت عليه الأمور: قرأ آيات السكينة. وسمعته يقول في واقعة عظيمة جرت له في مرضه تعجز العقول عن حملها، من محاربة أرواح شيطانية ظهرت له إذ ذاك في حال ضعف القوة، قال: فلما اشتد علي الأمر قلت لأقاربي ومن حولي: اقرأوا آيات السكينة، قال: ثم أقلع عني ذلك الحال، وجلست وما بي قَلَبَة. وقد جربت أنا أيضا قراءة هذه الآيات عند اضطراب القلب مما يرد عليه، فرأيت لها تأثيرا عظيما في سكونه وطمأنينته.»
Ibn al-Qayyim, Madarij as-Salikin
There is nothing wrong with reciting the verses of sakinah in times of fear, worry or trial, hoping that Allah will make the heart firm, provided this way of reciting them is not presented as recommended by the religion, nor turned into a ritual like the supplications established in the Quran and the Sunnah.
Explanation: Al-Mukhtasar
2:248. Their prophet said to them that the mark of his being truly chosen as their king was that Allah would return to them the Ark. This was a chest revered by the Israelites which was taken away from them. In it there was tranquillity and relics left behind by the family of Moses and Aaron, such as the staff and a few tablets. In that there is a clear sign if you are true believers.
9:26. Then, after they ran away from their enemy, Allah sent down calm upon His Messenger and the believers, so that they became patient in fighting; and He sent angels they could not see, and punished the disbelievers with death, capture and seizure of their wealth, women and children. These disbelievers were repaid in this way for their rejection of the Messenger.
9:40. If you O believers, do not help the Messenger (peace be upon him) and respond to his call to strive for the sake of Allah, then Allah has already helped him when you were not with him; when the idolaters drove him away from Mecca with Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him), and the two of them hid in the cave of Thawr from the disbelievers who were chasing them. On that occasion, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) told his companion Abū Bakr, who was scared that the idolaters would discover him, not to worry, because Allah was with them, supporting and helping them. Allah sent down His reassurance and tranquility upon the heart of His Messenger, and sent angels which they could not see to support them, making the word of the idolaters the lowest, and the word of Allah the highest by aiding His Religion. Allah is Mighty in His essence, power and force – nothing can overcome Him – and He Wise in His planning, decree and laws.
48:4. Allah is the One Who sent down stability and tranquility into the hearts of the believers so that they increase in faith over and above their faith. To Allah alone belongs the forces of the heavens and the earth, He supports with them whoever of His servants He wishes. Allah knows the interests of His servants and He is Wise in the assistance and support that He gives.
48:18. Verily, Allah was pleased with the believers when they were giving their oaths to you at Ḥudaybīyyah i.e. Bay‘at Al-Riḍwān under the tree. Allah knew of the faith, sincerity and honesty in their hearts and sent down tranquility on their hearts. And He rewarded them for it with a victory in the near future i.e. the victory over Khaybar, as consolation for them missing out on being able to enter Makkah.
48:26. Remember when those who disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger harboured in their hearts the pride of ignorance; an ignorance that was linked to desires and not the truth. They haughtily rejected the entrance of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) into Makkah the year of the treaty of Ḥudaybīyyah, fearing and blaming him that he would overpower them and take control over it. Therefore, Allah sent down tranquility from Himself upon the His Messenger and upon the believers so their anger did not lead to them confronting the idolaters with the same actions. Allah made the believers firm upon the statement of truth, i.e. ‘There is none worthy of worship except for Allah’, and kept them firm upon fulfilling its rights which they fulfilled. The believers were more worthy of this statement than others, and more deserving of it because of the goodness within their hearts that Allah knew of. And Allah is aware of everything; nothing is hidden from Him.
