With Hardship, Ease

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Any hardship is painful but it is not meant to stay. Before you know it, it is over. Allah does not keep you down all the time. Allah says,

فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ‎﴿٥﴾‏ إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ‎﴿٦﴾‏

For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. (5) Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. (6) [Quran, Al Sharh 94:5-6]

Allah will give you ease. While you are down, bear it with patience. You may be down for a while -- one year, two years or even ten or twenty years -- but during those years, your life will change to a degree that you will look back and say I was about to give up at one stage. 

The story of Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) in the Quran is one of the many stories that should give you hope that Allah will bring you out of your hardship and reward you with better than what you have lost. The femine in Egypt where Prophet Yusuf (peace upon him) rose to be the minister, ended after seven years and Allah reunited the family of Prophet Ya'qub (peace be upon him) after many years of separation. And just recall the recent Covid pandemic, which we can tell our own stories of hardship and loss. Alhamdulillah we have seen the end of it after two years and much good that has come out of it, for which we should be grateful.

Whenever we go through hardship or whenever we see or hear a calamity, there are things we need to know with certainty.

سَيَجْعَلُ ٱللَّـهُ بَعْدَ عُسْرٍ يُسْرًا ﴿٧

... Allah will bring about, after hardship, ease. (7) [Quran At-Talaq 65:7]

Certain hardships or calamities are so consuming that we cannot focus on anything but the difficulty. But if we were to enumerate the blessings of Allah Almighty, we would not be able to count them. Reminding ourselves of the other blessings in our lives allows us to see the hardship within the context of the grand scheme of things. Just the fact that you can crawl out of bed this morning and pray, and call say, “Allahu Akbar” is a blessing that surpasses all others. 

There is a purpose behind hardships, and this purpose corresponds to our internal state and our relationship with Allah. The hardships are not put upon us by a random being, but by Allah, our Lord.

إِنَّ رَبِّى لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ‎﴿١٠٠﴾‏ 

Indeed, my Lord is Subtle in what He wills. Indeed, it is He who is the Knowing, the Wise. [Quran, Yusuf 12:100]

Trials and difficulties also have a way of reminding us of our purpose. If we are far from Allah, the test is usually to bring us close to Him. Whatever heedlessness we are engaging in, the test should make us realize we have no one, no one at all, but Allah. So turn to Him, and cry your heart out for Him.

If we are close to Allah, it is to test our resilience. Are we only close to Allah in times of ease, or does our trust extend to the times of hardship? When we are tested, do we leave the good deeds that we used to do? Don't be like those people for Allah describes those people as someone who has lost everything.

Allah Almighty says,

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَعْبُدُ ٱللَّـهَ عَلَىٰ حَرْفٍ ۖ فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُۥ خَيْرٌ ٱطْمَأَنَّ بِهِۦ ۖ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ ٱنقَلَبَ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِۦ خَسِرَ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْخُسْرَانُ ٱلْمُبِينُ ﴿١١

And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face [to the other direction]. He has lost [this] world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss. (11)

[Quran Al-Hajj 22:11]

Tests are also out of Allah’s love. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam, said, "When Allah loves a servant, He tests him,” [Tirmidhi]. In a hadith qudsi (a hadith relating the words of Allah, Allah tells Jibreel to delay the response to the du`a’ of a servant because Allah loves hearing his voice [Tabarani]. Sometimes the answer to a test is that need for Allah, those long hours spent in the night, and the tears of sincerity.

When the waves start coming one after another, don't despair. Lay low, thank Allah and develop your relationship with Allah. You are not going to live your life in perpetual hardship, because 'unquestionably, the help of Allah is near.'

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ خَلَوْا۟ مِن قَبْلِكُم ۖ مَّسَّتْهُمُ ٱلْبَأْسَآءُ وَٱلضَّرَّآءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ ٱلرَّسُولُ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ ٱللَّـهِ ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّ نَصْرَ ٱللَّـهِ قَرِيبٌ ﴿٢١٤

Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said, "When is the help of Allah?" Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near. (214)

[Quran Al-Baqarah 2:214]

May Allah make us of those who constantly turn to Him and remember Him, in hardship and ease.  May Allah save us from the trials and tribulations of this life and the next. Ameen.

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