Saturday

Tranquility, or Sakînah, in Islam - Types of tranquility in the Qur’ân



The Greatest Problems Of Our Time.

Worry is one of the greatest problems of our time, and since the human mind only finds true peace when it is in relationship with its Creator, it is necessary to seek a divine solution to achieve it. In studying the Qur’ân, we notice that Allahﷻ has classified tranquility into five kinds: The one that occurs with the night, the one between the spouses, the one with the prayer of Rasulullahﷺ, the one of the Israeli coffin, and finally The absolute tranquility.

  1. The Tranquility of the Body

The first stage of tranquility is that of the body. One of the means that immobilizes the body and the mind is sleep. Thus, the Creator of the universe informs us that He created the night so that men can benefit from rest. He made the night a phase of rest; and the sun and the moon to measure time. This is the order conceived by the Mighty and the Omniscient One.


فَالِقُ ٱلْإِصْبَاحِ وَجَعَلَ ٱلَّيْلَ سَكَنًۭا وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ حُسْبَانًۭا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْعَلِيمِ ٩٦

[He is the Cleaver of the Daybreak, and He hath appointed the night for stillness, and the sun and the moon for reckoning. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise]   M. Pickthall

(Surah An Nam: 96).

In this noble verse, God presents Himself as “the Mighty One” and “the Omniscient One”, thus, He determines the function of everything He has created, and tells us that He has made the night for His creatures to calm down and rest.

  1. Sentimental Tranquility

The second kind of tranquility is that of feeling, when a man and a woman are in a relationship, in fact, they tranquilize themselves emotionally and also physically. The Creator states, clearly, that He created husbands and wives to live in tranquility:

وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦٓ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًۭا لِّتَسْكُنُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةًۭ وَرَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍۢ لِّقَوْمٍۢ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ٢١

“And of His signs is this: He created for you helpmeets from yourselves that ye might find rest in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy. Lo! herein indeed are portents for folk who reflect.” 
(Surah Ar Rum: Ayat 21).

At the beginning of this holy verse, Allahﷻ enumerates one of His Signs (creation of the spouses) and then He insists that He creates affection and kindness between the spouses so that they may be tranquilized and at the end of the verse, He invites to reflect on His Signs more and more.

  1. Inner Tranquility

The prayer of the perfect man brings several valuable effects. One of these results is getting rid of feelings that are incompatible with the human spirit and as soon as they disappear, positive inner emotions, such as tranquility, replace them. According to the Holy Qur’ân, the prayer of Rasulullahﷺ brings tranquility to His people;

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ صَدَقَةًۭ تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ إِنَّ صَلَوٰتَكَ سَكَنٌۭ لَّهُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ١٠٣

“Take from their wealth ˹O Prophet˺ charity to purify and bless them, and pray for them—surely your prayer is a source of comfort for them. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. “
(Surah Taubah: 103).

In the above-mentioned verse, God says that He hears the voice of the prayer of His Prophet and He knows everything. Therefore, the effects of Rasulullahﷺ’s prayer come from Allahﷻ and to acquire them, one must resort to the Rasulullahﷺ.

Exposing the Deceitful Ways of Hypocrites


Allahﷻ said that when the believers go back to Al-Madinah, the hypocrites will begin apologizing to them.

قُل لاَّ تَعْتَذِرُواْ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكُمْ

[Say "Present no excuses, we shall not believe you."), we shall not believe what you say,]

قَدْ نَبَّأَنَا اللَّهُ مِنْ أَخْبَارِكُمْ

[Allahﷻ has already informed us of the news concerning you.) Allahﷻ has exposed your news to us,]

وَسَيَرَى اللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ

(Allahﷻ and Rasulullahﷺ will observe your deeds.) your actions will be made public to people in this life,


ثُمَّ تُرَدُّونَ إِلَى عَـلِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَـدَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

(In the end you will be brought back to the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, then He (Allahﷻ) will inform you of what you used to do.) Allah will inform you of your deeds, whether they were good or evil, and will recompense you for them. Allah said that the hypocrites will swear to the believers in apology so that the believers turn away from them without admonishing them. Therefore, Allahﷻ ordered disgracing them by turning away from them, for they are,

رِجْسٌ

[(Rijs) meaning, impure inwardly and in their creed. Their destination in the end will be Jahannam,[

جَزَآءً بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْسِبُونَ

[a recompense for that which they used to earn.) of sins and evil deeds. Allahﷻ said that if the believers forgive the hypocrites when they swear to them,]


فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَرْضَى عَنِ الْقَوْمِ الْفَـسِقِينَ

[certainly Allah is not pleased with the people who are Fasiqin.) who rebel against the obedience of Allahﷻ and Rasulullahﷺ. `Fisq', means, `deviation'.]


Among the Signs of Allah


Allah says:

وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ

(And among His signs) -- which speaks of His might and power, is the fact that He created your father Adam out of dust.


ثُمَّ إِذَآ أَنتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُونَ


(and then -- behold you are human beings scattered!) So man's origins lie in dust, then in a despised liquid, then he is formed and becomes a clot, then a lump of flesh, then bones in the form of a human being. Then Allah clothes the bones with flesh. Then the soul is breathed into him and he can hear and see. Then he comes forth from his mother's womb, small and weak, but the longer he lives, the stronger he becomes until he reaches the age where he can build cities and strongholds, and he travels to different lands and across the seas, earning a living and amassing wealth, and he is smart and intelligent and crafty, with ideas and opinions of his own, and each one is able to achieve great things in this world and in the Hereafter according to his individual means. Glory be to the One Who has enabled them and made it easy for them to learn all kinds of skills for earning a living, and has caused them to vary in their levels of knowledge and intellectual ability, and in how handsome or ugly, rich or poor they are, and in whether they are blessed and doomed. Allah says:


وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ إِذَآ أَنتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُونَ


(And among His signs is this that He created you from dust, and then -- behold you are human beings scattered!) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Musa said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:


«إِنَّ اللهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْضَةٍ قَبَضَهَا مِنْ جَمِيع الْأَرْضِ، فَجَاءَ بَنُو آدَمَ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْأَرْضِ، جَاءَ مِنْهُمُ الْأَبْيَضُ وَالْأَحْمَرُ وَالْأَسْوَدُ وَبَيْنَ ذَلِكَ، وَالْخَبِيثُ وَالطَّيِّبُ، وَالسَّهْلُ وَالْحَزْنُ وَبَيْنَ ذَلِك»


(Allah created Adam from a handful taken from throughout the earth. Hence the sons of Adam vary as the earth varies, so they are white and red and black and colors in between, evil and good, easy-going or difficult -- or something in between.)" This was also recorded by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi, who said, "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih." Allah said:


وَمِنْ ءايَـتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَجاً


(And among His signs is this that He created for you wives from among yourselves,) meaning, `He created females of your own kind, to be wives for you.

'

لِّتَسْكُنُواْ إِلَيْهَا


[that you may find repose in them,) This is like the Ayah,]


هُوَ الَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَحِدَةٍ وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا


(It is He Who has created you from a single person, and He has created from him his wife, in order that he might enjoy the pleasure of living with her) (7:189). This refers to Hawwa'. Allah created her from Adam, from the short rib on his left. If Allah had made all of Adam's progeny male and created the females from another kind, such as from Jinn or animals, there would never have been harmony between them and their spouses. There would have been revulsion if the spouses had been of a different kind. Out of Allah's perfect mercy, He made their wives from their own kind and created love and kindness between them. For a man stays with a woman because he loves her, or because he feels compassion towards her if they have a child together, or because she needs him to take care of her, etc.


إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لآيَـتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect.)


The Command to collect the Zakah and Its Benefits


Allah commanded His Messenger to take Sadaqah from the Muslims' money to purify and sanctify them with it. This Ayah is general, even though some said that it refers specifically to those who mixed good and evil deeds, who admitted to their errors. Some bedouin later thought that paying Zakah to the Leader was not legislated except to the Messenger ﷺ himself, using this Ayah as evidence,


خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَلِهِمْ صَدَقَةً


(Take Sadaqah from their wealth.) Abu Bakr As-Siddiq and other Companions refuted this ill comprehension and fought against them until they paid the Zakah to the Khalifah, just as they used to pay it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. As-Siddiq said, "By Allah! If they abstain from paying a bridle that they used to pay to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I will fight them for refraining from paying it." Allah's statement,


وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ


(and Salli for them), means, supplicate for them, and ask Allah to forgive them. In the Sahih, Muslim recorded that `Abdullah bin Abi Awfa said, "Whenever the Prophet was brought charity, he used to invoke Allah for those who brought it. My father also brought his charity and the Prophet said,


«اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى آلِ أَبِي أَوْفَى»


(O Allah! I invoke You for the family of Abu Awfa.)" Allah's statement,


إِنَّ صَلَوَتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ


(Verily, your Salat are a Sakan for them), means, a mercy for them, according to Ibn `Abbas. Allah said next,


وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ


(and Allah is All-Hearer,) of your invocation (O Muhammad),


عَلِيمٌ


(All-Knower.) in those who deserve your invocation on their behalf, who are worthy of it. Allah said,


أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ الصَّدَقَـتِ


(Know they not that Allah accepts repentance from His servants and accepts the Sadaqat) This Ayah encourages reverting to repentance and giving charity, for each of these actions erases, deletes and eradicate sins. Allah states that He accepts the repentance of those who repent to Him, as well as charity from pure resources, for Allah accepts it with His Right Hand and raises it for its giver until even a date becomes as large as Mount Uhud. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,


«إِنَّ اللهَ يَقْبَلُ الصَّدَقَةَ وَيَأْخُذُهَا بِيَمِينِهِ فَيُرَبِّيهَا لِأَحَدِكُمْ كَمَا يُرَبِّي أَحَدُكُمْ مُهْرَهُ، حَتَّى إِنَّ اللُّقْمَةَ لَتَكُونُ مِثْلَ أُحُد»


(Verily, Allah accepts charity, receives it in His Right Hand, and develops it for its giver, just as one of you raises his pony until the bite of food becomes as large as Uhud.) The Book of Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored testifies to this Hadith,


أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ الصَّدَقَـتِ


(Know they not that Allah accepts repentance from His servants and accepts the Sadaqat), and,


يَمْحَقُ اللَّهُ الْرِّبَواْ وَيُرْبِى الصَّدَقَـتِ


(Allah will destroy Riba and will give increase for Sadaqat.) 2:276 `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "Charity falls in Allah's Hand before it falls in the needy's hand," he then recited this Ayah,


أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ الصَّدَقَـتِ

(Know they not that Allah accepts repentance from His servants and accepts the Sadaqat).