Sakan
Definition
Sakan is the Quranic purpose of marriage: 'that you may find tranquility in them.' This tranquility is at once physical (the stable home), emotional (the refuge from the storms of the world), and spiritual (the space in which both spouses support each other's relationship with Allah). Al-Ghazali argues that a marriage that produces genuine sakan is one of the greatest gifts a human being can experience, and that the cultivation of this tranquility is a shared project — neither spouse can produce it alone, and neither can claim it without investing in the conditions that make it possible.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Sakan.
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"Among the martyrs of the Day of Uhud were: Hamza, Abdullah ibn Jahsh al-Asadi, Uthman ibn Uthman al-Makhzumi, and from the Ansar: Amr ibn Mu'adh al-Awsi, al-Harith ibn Anis, Amarah ibn Ziyad ibn al-Sakan, Rifa'ah ibn Waqsh, Sayfi ibn Qayzi, 'Abbad ibn Sahl, Ubayd ibn al-Tayhan, Habib ibn Zayd, Iyas ibn Aws al-Ashhaliyyun, al-Yaman, Zayd ibn Hatib al-Zafari, Abu Sufyan ibn Harith ibn Qays, Ghasil al-Mala'ika Hanzalah ibn Abi Amir, Malik ibn Umayyah, Awf ibn Amr, Abu Hayyah ibn Amr, Abdullah ibn Jubayr ibn al-Nu'man, Khaythamah, Subay' ibn Hatib, and Umair ibn Adi."
— Imam al-Dhahabī, Volume 1
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"Allah the Exalted has bestowed this as a favor upon His servants. As He says in Surah Ar-Rum, And among His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them, and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. Thus He made women a source of comfort for men, calming their hearts, and placed between them pure love, which is affection coupled with mercy."
— Ibn al-Qayyim, The Disease and The Cure
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"it is incumbent upon Allah that I be an intercessor for him. This was recorded by al-Tabarani from Ibn Umar and authenticated by Ibn al-Sakan. When visiting, one should humbly magnify and say: In the name of Allah and upon the religion of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. Oh Lord, grant me an entrance of truth and an exit of truth, and grant me from Your side a supporting authority."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 7: The Mysteries of Pilgrimage
Appears in
1 book in the library
Hear the term in context.
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