Quranic root
سكن
s · k · n
The root centers on stillness, settledness, and freedom from agitation or movement.
From physical stillness it extends to dwelling and settling, to whatever provides repose or reassurance, and to things understood as calming or steadying. Several derivatives develop specialized associations, such as poverty or abasement, a knife that stills the slaughtered animal, and a rudder that steadies a vessel.
- Maqāyīs · row 2462
- Mufradāt · row 710
- 10
- Quran-attested forms
- 15
- Quran senses
- 69
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
سَكَنَ
sakana
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form I
- Form
- I
- Quran occurrences
- 15 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
To become still, quiet, calm, or motionless; to cease or subside after movement.
Applies to people, animals, natural forces, sounds, and other things. Context may render the result as rest, calm, or cessation.
- Lane · entry 41659
Selected Quran examples
Quran 6:13word 3
“dwells”
To dwell, inhabit, or abide in a place.
Used of taking up residence or remaining in a house or place; the Quranic expression in 6:13 is also discussed in relation to the meanings of dwelling and stillness.
- Lane · entry 41659
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
Quran 6:13word 3
“dwells”
To find repose or security in, rely on, or become at ease with.
A construction with إِلَى; in the Quran it describes becoming emotionally settled or familiar through reliance or attachment, including the marital relation in 7:189 and 30:21.
- Lane · entry 41659
Selected Quran examples
Quran 7:189word 10
“that he might live”
Quran 30:21word 9
“that you may find tranquility”
أَسْكَنَ
ʾaskana
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form IV
- Form
- IV
- Quran occurrences
- 5 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
To cause something to settle, become still, or come to rest.
Causative Form IV; Quranic uses include making water settle in the earth and causing a natural force to become still.
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
Quran 23:18word 6
“then We cause it to settle”
To make someone dwell in a place; to lodge or settle someone there.
Takes a person or group as the one caused to inhabit an abode; it includes lodging and assigning a dwelling.
- Lane · entry 41662
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
Quran 14:37word 3
“[I] have settled”
Quran 65:6word 1
“Lodge them”
مَسْكَن
maskan
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 12 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
A dwelling, abode, house, or place of habitation.
The Quranic form is predominantly the plural مَسَاكِنُ; it denotes places where people live, lodge, or have lived.
- Lane · entry 41685
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
Quran 9:24word 14
“and the dwellings”
Quran 34:15word 5
“their dwelling place”
مَسْكَنَة
maskanah
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 2 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Poverty, misery, lowliness, or an abject condition.
In the Quran it denotes a condition of poverty or humiliation, rather than a dwelling; it is associated lexically with the condition of the miskīn.
- Lane · entry 41687
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:61word 40
“and the misery”
Quran 3:112word 20
“the poverty”
مَسْكُون
maskūn
- Part of speech
- Passive participle
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Inhabited or occupied as a dwelling.
The supplied Quran occurrence is the feminine form مَسْكُونَةٌ; the public headword is normalized to the masculine passive-participle citation form.
- Mufradāt · row 710
- Lane · entry 41685
Selected Quran examples
Quran 24:29word 8
“inhabited”
مِسْكِين
miskīn
- Part of speech
- Adjective / Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 23 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
A needy, poor, or vulnerable person; one lacking sufficient means.
The Quran uses the singular and plural forms for recipients or objects of care and charity. The term need not imply absolute destitution; in 18:79 it is applied to people who possess a boat but are vulnerable to loss and oppression.
- Lane · entry 41689
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
سَاكِن
sākin
- Part of speech
- Active participle
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Still, stationary, or at rest.
The Quranic occurrence describes something whose movement has ceased or is held still.
- Lane · entry 41683
Selected Quran examples
Quran 25:45word 11
“stationary”
سَكَن
sakan
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 3 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
A source of rest, ease, quiet, or reassurance.
May denote whatever provides inward ease or quiet. Quranic contexts include the calming effect of prayers and the restorative function of night.
- Lane · entry 41668
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
Quran 6:96word 5
“(for) rest”
Quran 9:103word 12
“(are a) reassurance”
A dwelling or place of repose.
In the Quran, a house may be described as سَكَنًا insofar as it provides a settled place of rest and habitation.
- Lane · entry 41668
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
Quran 16:80word 6
“a resting place”
سَكِينَة
sakīnah
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 6 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Calmness, tranquility, composed dignity, or inward steadiness.
The Quran uses it for a settled and reassured state bestowed or established in people, especially in situations of fear, conflict, or uncertainty.
- Lane · entry 41674
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
Quran 48:4word 4
“[the] tranquility”
Quran 48:18word 15
“the tranquility”
A divinely bestowed means or sign of reassurance and security.
In 2:248, سَكِينَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ is explained as something from God by which people become tranquil; exegetical accounts differ over whether this is an immaterial reassurance, an angelic presence, a sign, or another concrete manifestation. The shared lexical function is calming and reassurance.
- Lane · entry 41674
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:248word 11
“(is) tranquility”
سِكِّين
sikkīn
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
A knife.
The lexical explanation connects the name with stilling or stopping the movement of the animal slaughtered with it.
- Lane · entry 41679
- Mufradāt · row 710
Selected Quran examples
Quran 12:31word 13
“a knife”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:35ٱسْكُنْDwell
- 2:61وَٱلْمَسْكَنَةُand the misery
- 2:83وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينِand the needy
- 2:177وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينَand the needy
- 2:184مِسْكِينٍۢ ۖa poor
Broader Classical Arabic meanings
Recorded for this root in the Classical lexicons beyond its Quran usage. These are secondary to the Quran senses above.
Show 30 Classical meanings
سَكَنَ
To become lowly, humble, submissive, abject, or weak.
A distinct classical use of the Form I verb, associated with becoming such as is termed مِسْكِين.
- Lane · entry 41659
سَكَّنَ
To cause a thing, person, sound, or force to become still, quiet, calm, or silent.
Form II causative; it can include calming pain, anger, heat, cold, fire, tears, or other activity.
- Lane · entry 41660
تَسْكِين
The straightening of a cane or spear with fire.
A technical noun for the process of heating and straightening the object.
- Lane · entry 41660
سُكَيْن
The act of constantly riding a light and swift ass.
A specialized lexical expression associated with the animal called سُكَيْن.
- Lane · entry 41660
سَاكَنَ
To live near someone or in his neighborhood.
Form III construction meaning to dwell alongside or near another person.
- Lane · entry 41661
أَسْكَنَ
To cause someone to become poor, lowly, or one of the miskīn.
A classical Form IV causative use distinct from lodging someone in a house.
- Lane · entry 41662
تَسَكَّنَ
To become or affect to be calm, tranquil, grave, steady, or sedate.
Form V, describing the adoption or display of the quality of سَكِينَة.
- Lane · entry 41663
تَمَسْكَنَ
To affect to be or imitate one of the poor.
A derived lexical use referring to assumed poverty or the appearance of being needy.
- Lane · entry 41665
تَمَسْكَنَ
To humble or abase oneself before God, including by earnest or energetic supplication.
A conventional devotional use distinct from merely imitating the poor.
- Lane · entry 41665
سَكْن
The inhabitants, household, family, or collective people of a house, tent, or tribe.
A collective or quasi-plural noun; it may refer to the people of a dwelling or the collective body of a tribe.
- Lane · entry 41666
سُكْن
Food, provisions, or victuals.
A specialized noun for food understood as enabling people to remain or inhabit a place.
- Lane · entry 41667
سَكَن
A trusted source of ease or support: a person or thing upon which one relies, including family, a spouse, or property.
A broader classical noun use for what gives security or inward quiet; the Quranic sense is represented separately under the same headword.
- Lane · entry 41668
سَكَن
A fire used as a source of comfort or warmth.
A specialized noun, originally connected with the repose or comfort provided by fire.
- Lane · entry 41668
سَكَن
Mercy, pity, or compassion.
A reported classical extension of the noun’s meaning.
- Lane · entry 41668
سَكَن
A blessing, prosperity, or increase.
A reported classical synonymic extension.
- Lane · entry 41668
سَكِنَة
A place of habitation, abode, or lodging.
Distinct from سَكِينَةٌ ‘tranquility’; the form denotes a physical place or place of alighting.
- Lane · entry 41671
سَكِنَة
The part of the neck where the head rests.
An anatomical use of the noun.
- Lane · entry 41671
سُكْنَى
Granting someone a place or dwelling to inhabit without rent.
A legal or customary residential grant, distinct from ordinary inhabitation.
- Lane · entry 41672
سُكَيْن
A light, active, and swift ass; the feminine سُكَيْنَةٌ can denote a she-ass in the same sense.
The same term may also refer to a wild ass; the feminine form is a lexical counterpart, not the Quranic tranquility noun.
- Lane · entry 41673
- Lane · entry 41675
سُكَيْنَة
A girl, young woman, or female slave of a light or active spirit.
A figurative or name-based extension from the feminine animal term.
- Lane · entry 41673
السُّكَيْنَة
The name of a gnat in a traditional account concerning Nimrod.
A proper or narrative designation, not the noun meaning tranquility.
- Lane · entry 41673
الطُّرَّةُ السُّكَيْنِيَّة
A straight-edged or bordered lock of hair over the forehead.
A named hairstyle associated with Sukaynah, the daughter of al-Husayn.
- Lane · entry 41676
سَكَّان
A maker of knives.
A professional noun related to سَكَاكِينُ ‘knives’.
- Lane · entry 41677
سُكَّان
The rudder or tiller of a ship or boat.
The implement by which a vessel is directed and made steady.
- Lane · entry 41678
سُكَّان
The inhabitants or residents of a place or house.
Plural of سَاكِن; in the expression سُكَّانُ الدَّارِ it may refer to the beings believed to inhabit a house, including jinn in the cited usage.
- Lane · entry 41678
- Lane · entry 41683
سَاكِن
An inhabitant, resident, or lodger.
Active participle used substantively for one who dwells in a place.
- Lane · entry 41683
مُسْكِن
Abundant pasture that causes people or animals to remain rather than move on.
A specialized descriptive use of a place that provides enough sustenance for continued stay.
- Lane · entry 41686
مَسْكَنَة
Lowliness, humility, submissiveness, abasement, humiliation, weakness, or poverty of condition.
The broader classical state associated with being a مِسْكِين; the Quranic poverty sense is represented separately under مَسْكَنَة.
- Lane · entry 41686
- Lane · entry 41687
مِسْكِين
A lowly, humble, submissive, abject, weak, subdued, or oppressed person.
A classical lexical branch distinct from the Quranic charitable use meaning a needy or poor person; the term can apply even where material destitution is not established.
- Lane · entry 41659
- Lane · entry 41689
سُكَيْن
The act of constantly riding a light and swift ass.
A specialized lexical expression associated with the animal called سُكَيْن.
- Lane · entry 41660
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The lexical distinction between مِسْكِين and فَقِير, including their relative degree of need, is disputed in the cited classical discussions; the Quranic entry therefore uses the broader supported sense ‘needy or poor’.
سَكِينَةٌ in 2:248 has divergent interpretations, ranging from tranquility itself to a divinely bestowed sign, angelic presence, or other means of reassurance; these are preserved as usage nuance rather than asserted as one concrete referent.
The homophonous-looking forms سَكِينَةٌ ‘tranquility’ and سِكِّينٌ ‘knife’ are separate lexical items with different vocalization and meaning.
Unassigned or ambiguous evidence
lane-unit:skn:41688:g1:main: the meaning ‘earnest or earnest money’ is recorded under مُسْكَانٌ but the entry explicitly says it belongs to the separate root مسك, so it is not assigned as a secure skn meaning.