The Sakinah And A Cloud Lead Prophet Abraham To Ruins Of Kaa’ba – OpEd

How did Allah guide Prophet Abraham and Prophet Ishmael to travel from the Land of Israel, where they had been commanded by Allah to rebuild the ruins of a primordial ancient sanctuary, to the Bakka valley, some 700 miles south of the Land of Israel?

Most Muslim commentators and historians say Prophet Abraham and Prophet Ishmael were guided by the Sakinah. The pure Arabic root s-k-n denotes rest or tranquility and by extension assurance. The same Sakinah that guided Prophet Abraham and Prophet Ishmael to travel from the Land of Israel to the Bakka valley; about 2,000 later guided and assured Prophet Muhammad to flee the many years of oppression by the Quraysh in Makkah, and travel to Medina where he would find great success. As the Qur'an states:

"If you do not aid the Prophet - Allah has already aided him when those [Quraysh] who disbelieved [Prophet Muhammad] drove him out [of Makkah] as one of two [hiding from Quraysh pursuers] in the cave; and one said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." And Allah sent down his [Sakinah] tranquillity upon him and supported him with angels you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah is the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise."

This same Sakinah guided and assured Prophet Samuel's selection of Saul to be the first King of Israel: "Their prophet (Samuel) said to them (The People of Israel), "Indeed, a sign of his (Saul's) kingship is that the chest (ark of the covenant) will come to you in which is Sakinah- assurance (Ghali translates; serenity) from your Lord, and a remnant of what the family of Moses and the family of Aaron had left (the ten commandments' stone tablets), carried by the angels. Indeed, in that is a sign for you, if you are (already) believers." (Qur'an 2:248)

The Qur'an's reference to Prophet Moses reminds us that when God directs the People of Israel to build a sanctuary God says first, each person should make a voluntary offering: "The Lord said to Moses "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive an offering for me, from everyone whose heart prompts them to give." (Exodus 25:1-2)

Six verses later God says,"Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell (Shekanti) among them." (25:8) First humans choose to make a heartfelt offering to God; then God chooses to dwell among, and within, all faithful humans and their religious communities.

When God is well pleased by faithful people, God's gift of inner peace and reassurance is sent down to them. As it says: "Certainly Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you, (Muhammad), under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down Sakinah (tranquillity) upon them and rewarded them with an imminent conquest". (Qur'an 48:18)

The Sakinah can also dwell on or in a holy person; a saint, a sage. or a Prophet like Muhammad: "Allah sent down His Sakinah (tranquillity/calmness) 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." (48: 26)

The reference to being deserving and worthy of experiencing the Shekinah [Hebrew for Sakinah] teaches that it is not simply inherited; but must be earned. Thus the words of God to [Prophet] Solomon when he built the Temple: "Concerning this house which you are building, if you follow My statutes and carry out My judgements and keep all My commandments to live according them, then will I carry out My promise to you which I spoke to your father, [Prophet] David. And I will dwell among the Children of Israel and I will not forsake My people, Israel" (1 Kings 6:11-13).

The Temple is not the reason the Shekinah dwells amongst Israel, which is conditional upon the Jewish people observing the Divine demands made upon them. This connection between God's dwelling in the Mishkan [the Tabernacle tent of Assembly] and among the People of Israel helps to clarify two adjoining sentences.

After God instructs Moses in the details of the offerings on the altar, the dedication of the Tent of Assembly, and the appointment of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood, God adds one extra passage: "And I will dwell among the Children of Israel; and I will be their God" (Ex. 29:45).

So, if they accept God's rule on them and do God's will, the Shekinah will rest among them, and if not, the Shekinah will not settle either among the people or in the Temple. As the Qur'an
states: "Then Allah sent down His [Sskinah] tranquillity upon His Messenger and upon the believers and sent down soldiers angels whom you did not see and punished those who disbelieved. And that is the recompense of the disbelievers." (9:26)

As the Zabur of Prophet David proclaims: "How lovely is your dwelling place, (Miskan) LORD of hosts.My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

"Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.As they pass through the Valley of Bakka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.Look on as our shield,O God; look with favor on your anointed one.Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.(Psalms 84:1-10)

Even better, as Prophet Solomon wrote, " I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine." (Song of Songs 6:3) This applies especially to long lasting mature marriages; and to marriages where one or both of the partners has become aware that becoming Jewish is returning to having a Jewish Shekinah soul.

And most importantly, although Shekinah is not one of the 99 names of God in the Qur'an; Shekinah is a Rabbinic and Kabbalistic name for experiencing the female aspect of God's personal presence.

It is Allah Who sends forth winds that raise up Clouds, and We drive them to a land that is dead, and revive the earth therewith after its death: even so (will be) the Resurrection! (Surah Fatir, 9)

The Qur'an also states 9:40 "If you do not aid the Prophet - Allah has already aided him when those [Quraysh] who disbelieved [Prophet Muhammad] drove him out [of Makkah] as one of two [hiding from Quraysh pursuers] in the cave; and one said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." And Allah sent down his [Sakinah] tranquillity upon him and supported him with angels you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah - is the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise."(Qur'an 48:4)

"It is He [Allah] who sent down [Sakinah] tranquillity into the hearts of the believers that they would increase in faith along with their [present] faith. And to Allah belong the soldiers of the heavens and the earth, and ever is Allah Knowing and Wise."

"If you do not aid the Prophet - Allah has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah] as one of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." And Allah sent down his [Sakinah] tranquillity upon him and supported him with angels you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah - that is the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise." (9:40)

And Qur'an 48:4 states: "It is He [Allah] who sent down [Sakinah] tranquillity into the hearts of the believers that they would increase in faith along with their [present] faith. And to Allah belong the soldiers of the heavens and the earth, and ever is Allah Knowing and Wise.

And Qur'an 2:248 says; "And their prophet [Samuel] said to them, "Indeed, a sign of his [Talut's] kingship is that the chest [ark] will come to you in which is [Sakinah]assurance from your Lord and a remnant of what the family of Moses and the family of Aaron had left, carried by the angels. Indeed that is a sign for you, if you are believers."