With Hardship Comes Ease
Ash-Sharh 94:5–6. Also known as Inna ma'al usri yusra, Verily with hardship there is relief, After hardship comes ease
فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرًا ﴿٥﴾ إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرٗا ﴿٦﴾
Fainna maAAa alAAusri yusran Inna maAAa alAAusri yusran
5With hardship comes ease. 6With hardship comes ease.
With hardship comes ease is the promise at the center of Surah Ash-Sharh, the 94th surah, also called Al-Inshirah or Alam Nashrah. It is an early Meccan surah of only eight verses, and verses 5 and 6 say the same short sentence twice in a row.
The surah was addressed first to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ during the hard years in Mecca, when his message was rejected and his followers were few. Muslims have turned to these two verses ever since, in illness, debt, grief and every other kind of difficulty.
What it means
Ease is with the hardship, not only after it
Verse 5 says that ease comes with hardship. The Arabic word used is ma'a, meaning with, rather than a word meaning after. Many commentators point out that this suggests relief is already present alongside the difficulty, even when it is hard to see.
The promise is repeated
Verse 6 repeats verse 5 almost word for word. Repetition in Arabic gives emphasis and certainty. Allah says it once, and then says it again, as if to settle any doubt the listener might have.
One hardship, more than one ease
Commentators have long noticed a detail of the Arabic grammar. The word for hardship has the definite article both times, which suggests the same hardship is meant, while the word for ease has no article, which suggests a new ease each time. From this they drew the well-known lesson that one hardship will not overcome two eases.
Spoken to someone who had already been helped
The verses come after four verses reminding the Prophet ﷺ of what Allah had already done for him. The promise of ease is built on a record of past help, not on wishful thinking.
Where it sits in Surah Ash-Sharh
Surah Ash-Sharh opens by asking whether Allah had not expanded the Prophet's chest (verse 1), removed from him the burden (verse 2) that weighed heavily on his back (verse 3), and raised his mention (verse 4). Verses 5 and 6 then give the double promise of ease. The surah ends with two instructions: when you are free from one task, keep working in devotion (verse 7), and turn to your Lord with all your longing (verse 8). The surah is often read alongside Surah Ad-Duha, the 93rd surah, which comes just before it and also comforts the Prophet ﷺ, telling him in 93:3 that his Lord had not abandoned him.
How it is used
These verses are not tied to a specific ritual, but Muslims recite and remember them whenever life becomes difficult. The lesson that one hardship will not overcome two eases is very old. Imam Malik's Muwatta records it in a letter from Umar ibn al-Khattab to Abu Ubaydah, who was facing a hard military situation. A similar saying is attributed to the Prophet ﷺ in some collections, but those chains are considered weak, so it is safer to treat it as the understanding of the Companions.
Questions
Where is 'with hardship comes ease' in the Quran?
It is in Surah Ash-Sharh, the 94th surah, at verses 5 and 6. The same sentence appears in both verses.
Why is 'with hardship comes ease' repeated twice?
Repetition gives emphasis and certainty. Commentators also note that the Arabic suggests one hardship and two eases, which is the source of the saying that one hardship cannot overcome two eases.
Is there a similar verse elsewhere in the Quran?
Yes. Surah At-Talaq, 65:7, ends by saying that Allah will bring ease after hardship. The context there is financial support after divorce, but the promise is similar.