Al-Fath (The Victory)

4. He it is the One Who sent down serenity into the hearts of believers so that they may grow more in faith along with their faith. And to Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth and Allah is Ever Omniscient, All-Wise.

The Arabic word sakina designates serenity and calm. Whoever is granted such Divine Favor shall enjoy many a consequence. He is not afraid of being blamed. He puts his trust in God. If he loses something, he shall not be saddened by the loss. If he gains something, he shall not rebel nor shall he disobey Divine Commands. He shall not be affected by people’s respect or indifference, fame, obscurity, poverty, or affluence.

In the same manner that frightening disbelievers is Divine Succor;

(“We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve,”)1 ,

serenity is also a Divine Favor granted to believers’ hearts:

(“is the One Who sent down serenity into the hearts of believers”).

Therefore, peace of mind is solely possible through Divine Favor and it may not be accrued from any other source.

The aforementioned Verses reflect the Great Favors bestowed by God Almighty upon the Noble Prophet (S) as consequences of the manifest triumph, namely the Treaty of Hudaybiyya.

However, the blessed Verse in question treats of a Great Favor bestowed upon all believers:

“He it is the One Who sent down serenity into the hearts of believers so that they may grow more in faith along with their faith.”

Believers shall definitely be rewarded by serenity and peace of mind, since;

“To Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth and Allah is Ever Omniscient, All-Wise.”

The Arabic word sakina is cognate with sukun which designates such serenity and peace of mind that removes any doubt and fear from man’s heart and makes him persevere in the face of the tempest of vicissitudes.

Such serenity may be ideological and remove ideological debilitation or it may be practical such that it may provide man with perseverance and patience. It is worthy of note that taking into account the foregoing discussions and the contextual meaning of the blessed Verse in question, it mainly alludes the former sense. Even if faith had not other fruits but such serenity and peace of mind, they would have sufficed to make man welcome it from the bottom of his heart.

However, the fact is that faith engenders many other bounties and favors.

Taking a glance at the states of believers and disbelievers reflects that the latter suffer from permanent anxiety and concern, whereas the latter enjoy unequalled peace of mind as a consequence of which they fear no one but Allah:

(“And fear none but Allah,”)2 .

Whether faith be taken in the sense of knowledge and awareness or the spirit of submission to God Almighty, it consists of different degrees and even love and passion together with faith are different.

The clause:

“so that they may grow more in faith along with their faith”

lays emphasis on the same truth.

Consequently, believers are not supposed to stay at one stage of faith, but they need to ascend to more elevated stages through self-purification through knowledge and practice.

It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (as) that:

“There are ten degrees to faith in the same manner that one ascends the steps of a ladder.”3

Each of the two clauses closing the blessed Verse in question,

“to Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth and Allah is Ever Omniscient, All-Wise,”

reflects one of the reasons lying behind believers’ serenity.

The former ensures man that if he believes in God Almighty; He shall support you with all the forces of the heavens and the earth. The latter says unto him that God Almighty is All-Aware of his needs, problems, struggles, and obedience. Having faith in these two principles will lead to his serenity and peace of mind.