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Arabic root

س-ك-ن

Sin-Kaf-Nun

4 words from this root family

About this root

Sin-Kaf-Nun (س-ك-ن) has 4 words in the Fahm dictionary: sikkīn (knife), miskīn (poor person / needy / destitute), sakīnah (tranquility / divine calm / serenity), sakana (to live / to reside).

In the Quran, words built on this root occur 69 times in 66 verses, across 40 of the 114 suras. The first is in 2:35. The form مِسْكِينٌ (poor person / needy / destitute) accounts for 23 of them.

Themes: Dining, Home, Quranic, Verbs, Daily

Words from this root

WordMeaningTypeIn the QuranTaught in
سِكِّين
sikkīn
knifenoun, A11×At the Restaurant - Part 2
مِسْكِينٌ
miskīn
poor person / needy / destitutenoun, A223×Life, Death, and the Hereafter
سَكِينَةٌ
sakīnah
tranquility / divine calm / serenitynoun, B16×Character, Community, and Worship
سَكَنَ
sakana
to live / to resideverb, A115×Action Verbs - Work & Study

“In the Quran” counts every occurrence of that dictionary form, in any of its senses.

In the Quran

وَقُلْنَا يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ ٱسْكُنْ أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ

And We said: O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and eat ye freely (of the fruits) thereof where ye will; but come not nigh this tree lest ye become wrong-doers.

Quran 2:35
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنفِقُونَ ۖ قُلْ مَآ أَنفَقْتُم مِّنْ خَيْرٍ فَلِلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ وَٱلْأَقْرَبِينَ وَٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ ۗ وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِهِۦ عَلِيمٌ

They ask thee, (O Muhammad), what they shall spend. Say: that which ye spend for good (must go) to parents and near kindred and orphans and the needy and the wayfarer. And whatsoever good ye do, lo! Allah is Aware of it.

Quran 2:215
ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُۥ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِۦ وَعَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَأَنزَلَ جُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَعَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ جَزَآءُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ

Then Allah sent His peace of reassurance down upon His messenger and upon the believers, and sent down hosts ye could not see, and punished those who disbelieved. Such is the reward of disbelievers.

Quran 9:26

Arabic text: Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani 1.1), CC BY 3.0, tanzil.net. English: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain, via Project Gutenberg. Counts and verse choice: Quranic Arabic Corpus morphology data (corpus.quran.com).

Word cards with examples

A1noun
سِكِّين
sikkīn

knife

Example
السِّكِّينُ حَادَّةٌ
as-sikkīnu ḥāddatun
The knife is sharp
Grammar

Can be masculine or feminine in Arabic

A2noun
مِسْكِينٌ
miskīn

poor person / needy / destitute

Example
وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا
wa-yuṭʿimūna aṭ-ṭaʿāma ʿalā ḥubbihī miskīnan wa-yatīman wa-asīrā
And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive (76:8)
Grammar

Masculine noun (mifʿīl pattern). Plural: مَسَاكِينُ (masākīn). Distinguished from فَقِيرٌ (poor) - miskīn implies greater deprivation and helplessness.

Culture

Feeding the poor is repeatedly emphasized in the Quran as a mark of righteousness. The miskīn has a designated share in zakāh.

B1noun
سَكِينَةٌ
sakīnah

tranquility / divine calm / serenity

Example
هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
huwa alladhī anzala as-sakīnata fī qulūbi al-muʾminīn
It is He who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers (48:4)
Grammar

Feminine noun. From سَكَنَ (to be still/calm). Related: سَكَنٌ (dwelling/comfort). God 'sends down' sakīnah - it is a divine gift, not a human achievement.

Culture

Sakīnah is a special divine gift of inner peace sent to believers during trials. It descended on the Prophet ﷺ in the cave during the Hijrah (9:40).

A1verb
سَكَنَ
sakana

to live / to reside

Example
سكنتُ في بيروتَ خمسَ سنواتٍ
sakantu fī bayrūta khamsa sanawātin
I lived in Beirut for five years
Grammar

Form I verb. Past: sakana, Present: yaskunu. Takes fī (في) for place of residence.

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