Have you ever been in a pretty bad place in life and someone tells you "Relax, it will get better" or "Be patient, time will heal everything". These words end up annoying and infuriating us instead of alleviating the burden on our soul. You may even feel regretful for opening up and confiding in them. At these moments you might wonder to yourself “They just don't.. get it”.
Although these words of “comfort” may have sincere intentions behind them, they feel dismissive of your struggles. It emotionally invalidates and minimizes your experience. You are being told to “feel better” rather than them acknowledging or trying to understand your feelings.
You wonder to yourself, how would they know what the future holds? That the future will be brighter, as they claim? That your present state will eventually improve? That your heavy heart will finally feel lighter again?
Here is where it gets interesting.
Allah SWT, Al-Alim (The All-Knowing), Ar-Raheem (The Merciful) addresses this natural, universal human experience by sending down the verse “Verily with every hardship comes ease” (Quran 94:5-6). Now, how is this verse different from what our peers and loved ones tell us? They too have told us similar words.
The key difference here is that Allah SWT has boundless knowledge of the seen and unseen. Knowledge of what has happened and what is to come. The One who knows all with certainty. It is this powerful attribute of Allah SWT that should comfort us, that when He says ease will come, it indicates absolute truth and not just a mere consolement.
Another profound linguistic lesson in this verse is the word "لْعُسْرِ” (hardship) is in singular form while “يُسْرًا” (ease) is in its plural form. In other words, Allah is saying that with every difficulty that we face, the relief or ease we get in return will be multiplied. That our tough times are temporary and will always be accompanied by blessings. How comforting is it that The Most Wise (Al-Hakeem) has assured us that there will be tremendous ease along with every hardship we endure?
It almost seems as though the difficult times were worthwhile for the reward that awaits us afterward. In fact, the verse “Verily with every hardship comes ease” is repeated twice for extra emphasis and reassurance to the human race that no matter what challenges life throws at us, hardship can never overwhelm Allah’s Blessings.
As difficult as it can be to even hope. Let us try. Let us try our best, whatever our best may be. Let us remind ourselves to hold on to this verse of hope whenever we feel bogged down and overwhelmed by life’s struggles. The promised ease will arrive in multiplication in shaa Allah, it is just a matter of time.