Life, Hardship, and the Creator’s Wisdom
By: Athar Mudasir
We often make our lives harder and more complicated than they are meant to be, while the Creator wishes for us to live in simplicity and balance. As Muslims, we struggle to understand this, for it is not easy to surrender one’s conscience to the will of the Creator when everything around us trembles and shakes, when years of effort seem to drain into vanity.
Yet, even in such moments of despair, God offers hope. He reminds us that “with hardship comes ease”—and He repeats this truth so that it may settle firmly in our hearts. Life itself is not permanent, nor are its situations. Neither happiness will last forever, nor trials and suffering. Both ebb and flow as part of the divine rhythm.
Allah says:
“For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.”
— Surah Ash-Sharh (94:5–6)
Allah nourishes the believer with the assurance that He never tests beyond one’s capacity. But does this mean a believer should simply wait, passive and motionless? No. A believer is called to perceive, to act with sincerity, to fly empty and return full. It is in this journey that we discover the true virtue of gratitude and the strength of belief.
Allah says:
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear…”
— Surah Al-Baqarah (2:286)
