“Their Prophet (Samuel) added...” (Al-Baqarah 2:248)
وَقَالَ لَهُمْ نَبِيُّهُمْ إِنَّ اٰيَةَ مُلْكِه۪ۤ أَنْ يَأْتِيَكُمُ التَّابُوتُ ف۪يهِ سَك۪ينَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَبَقِيَّةٌ مِمَّا تَرَكَ اٰلُ مُوسٰى وَاٰلُ هَارُونَ تَحْمِلُهُ الْمَلٰۤئِكَةُۘ إِنَّ ف۪ي ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيَةً لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِن۪ينَ
“Their Prophet (Samuel) added: The sign of his (Saul’s) kingdom is that the Ark will come to you, in which there is inward peace and assurance from your Lord, and a remnant of what the house of Moses and the house of Aaron left behind, the angels bearing it. Truly, in that is a sign for you if you are (true) believers.” (Al-Baqarah 2:248)
First of all, we should determine the meaning of the Arabic word “sakīnah,” which is translated here as “inward peace and assurance.” Literally, sakīnah means a miracle or sign which gives solemnity, steadfastness, assurance, and confidence. When eyes see sakīnah and hearts feel it, it becomes a kind of peace and assurance felt in the spirit, manifesting itself in different ways. It has been represented or pictured sometimes as an object which gives glad tidings and sometimes as a nice breeze.
Of whatever nature, sakīnah was related here to the Children of Israel; it was a blessed gift inherited from the great Prophets of the past, with which hearts became tranquil and souls attained reassurance and contentment. Since sakīnah was carried inside the ark, the ark was considered as sakīnah itself and therefore a cause of blessing. The ark was such a blessing that angels, who are the heroes of extraordinary incidents, carried it, both showing and increasing its value. Their respect for it announced how blessed the ark is.
The sakīnah mentioned in the Qur’ān and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is described as a spiritual object and metaphysical manifestation that God Almighty sends to people. It gives strength to the hearts, and it increases the potency of the willpower in the ones on whom it descended. Sakīnah is such a mysterious favor that at times it has been desired by awliyā’ullah, or friends of God, and sometimes it has been bestowed without request on certain people due to their spiritual state.
Those who enter the atmosphere of sakīnah sense the infinity from the place where they stand. There have been, however, some who define sakīnah as descending of angels while some have described it as the presence of spiritual beings. Of whatever nature it is, Divine assurance and contentment come down where sakīnah descends. It brings about such an atmosphere that a complete satisfaction and peace are experienced in this atmosphere. It is such that even if people all around him or her die and their corpses fill the environment, one who receives sakīnah does not lose any of their assurance and confidence. For instance, the Qur’ān gives such an example from the Battle of Trench (627 CE), during which Madīnah was kept under siege for almost four weeks. The Qur’ān uses the expression “wa zulzilu” (They [the believers] were shaken) (Al-Ahzāb 33:11) in describing the severe conditions surrounding the believers. Despite four weeks of besiege and continuous attacks in the cold of January and in the clutches of hunger, destitution, and even some conspiracies within Madīnah, the believers were able to stand firm without taking even a step backward. In the Battle of Uhud (625 CE), again we see the heroes who challenged death despite the many shocks coming like waves of a roaring ocean. It was a severe test. As many as seventy heroes, such as Hamza, the heroic uncle of God’s Messenger, may God be pleased with them all, were martyred and emigrated into eternity. After all those shocks, when God Almighty came to their assistance with sakīnah, the rest of the fighters took the courage again. The next day, carrying the wounded on their backs, they set out to follow the enemy. When Abū Sufyān, the commander of the enemy forces, saw the believers so determined to chase them even as far as the inside of Makkah despite their though conditions, he ordered his army to continue toward Makkah swiftly, saying: “We won somewhat of a victory in Uhud, let us not lose it.”[1]
Due to its merits mentioned, sakīnah has always been a desired gift in the prayers of the believers. For instance, while digging the trench before the Battle of Trench, God’s Messenger and his Companions asked for sakīnah, praying all together: “O Allāh! Descend sakīnah upon us.”[2]
However, sakīnah may not manifest itself in the same way to each person or community. The spiritual states and physical conditions of individuals and communities play a great role in the descent of sakīnah, which is a favor and blessing of God. For instance, sakīnah was represented by the swift motions of angels during the Battle of Badr (624 CE). Similarly, Usayd ibn Hudayr, a Companion of the Prophet, received sakīnah as a misty cloud: the angels came near to his voice and descended like a misty cloud while he was reciting the Qur’ān. While Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, and his friend Abū Bakr took refuge in a cave on Mount Thawr during their emigration to Madīnah, sakīnah appeared as a complete satisfaction and assurance in the heart of the Messenger, who always kept his perfect trust in and reliance on God during his entire lifetime. Another similar instance during the Hijrah (Emigration) was that ‘Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Messenger, received sakīnah as an assurance, confidence, and satisfaction when he slept in God’s Messenger’s bed although he knew that he would be the target of hateful polytheists’ swords.
As for the Children of Israel, we should first of all state this reality that because of their character, dispositions, condition of life, and certain attitudes particular to them, sakīnah was bestowed on them as a concrete and visible object. They had said to Moses, upon him be peace: “Moses, we will never believe in you unless we plainly see God” (Al-Baqarah 2:55). By using “never,” they openly expressed that they did not have the intention to believe immediately. To mention parenthetically, Prophet Jesus, upon him be peace, would have a hard time among them, as he represented pure spirituality. He tried to modify and soften their rigid, strict, and positivist attitudes with his spirituality and prepared the ground for Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, to certain extent. Jesus presented his messages according to their level of understanding and never uttered anything that they would find odd and thus reject. Furthermore, saying: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. And when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth,”[3] Jesus left the final word to the one who would come after him. Therefore, Jesus the Messiah never told his community anything beyond their capacity of comprehension and tolerance. However, some defeated by their carnality and materialistic inclination and some among the Romans could not tolerate even the mild messages of Jesus and attempted to kill him.
Thus, if sakīnah had come to similar, materialistically inclined communities in a completely spiritual way as it came to Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, and his Companions ‘Ali and Usayd ibn Hudayr, those communities would have never been able to understand what it was about. Hence, the sakīnah they received was of the kind that they could perceive and sanctify. It came to the Children of Israel as a tangible, visible object in the ark which contained the sacred trusts of Prophets Joseph, Aaron, and Moses, peace be upon them all, and which had been known lost until that time.
Here, the reason why sakīnah came in an ark can be interpreted in both its outward and inward meanings and significance. In its outward significance and meaning, it would, first of all, indicate God’s power; and secondly, it would increase the trust and confidence in the Prophet who gave them some promises.
In its inward meaning and significance, it signified the strength which the Jews would derive from such extraordinary incidents. However, this also differs according to the state of recipients. The benefit of those whose level of reception is high and who takes interest in it will undoubtedly be different from that of those who are not open to Divine gifts and criticize everything they witness.
In addition, the ark may be indicative of the fact that that community was defunct in terms of their feelings, thoughts, and faith in a period of time. Or, the embodiment of sakīnah inside the ark could be a sign of the revival of that community. It might have been for that reason that Prophet David, upon him be peace, used to carry that ark in front of their army and brought it with him wherever he went.
[1] Ibn Hisham, as-Sīratu’n-Nabawiyyah, 3/110; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah wa’n-Nihāyah, 4/58.
[2] Bukhārī, Maghāzī, 29; Muslim, Jihād, 123–125.
[3] See John, 16: 7–8; 16:12–13; 14:15–16; 14:26–27.
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