Quranic theme
Hardship
الضراء
10 verses
When prophets were sent to ancient communities, their arrival was frequently paired with sudden suffering and material loss, designed with a specific psychological goal: to break human arrogance. Rather than acting as arbitrary punishment, adversity is deployed as an active mechanism to make people humble themselves before God (7:94).
Why does God send suffering and adversity?
The explicit purpose of affliction in the histories of earlier nations was spiritual recalibration. Messengers delivered warnings to disbelieving towns, but physical hardship reinforced the message, applied specifically so that the populations "could learn humility" (6:42). Discussing this dynamic, al-Tabari notes (Tafsir al-Tabari, 12/ 573) that the terminology used for the expected human reaction points directly to lowering oneself in earnest supplication. When communities are stripped of their resources, they are forced to confront their inherent vulnerability and dependence on their Creator.
How do people react when hardship passes?
The removal of adversity often exposes human nature more starkly than the suffering itself. When God alters the condition of a town, changing its hardship into prosperity until the people multiply in numbers and wealth, the intended gratitude rarely materializes. Instead, they historicize their experience, dismissing the divine test by claiming, "Hardship and affluence also befell our forefathers" (7:95). As Ibn Kathir observes (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 3/ 450), God tests individuals with both states—deprivation and abundance—yet the shift to comfort often triggers a complacency that leaves them vulnerable to sudden ruin.
This amnesia occurs on an individual level as well. If a person tastes mercy after harm, he quickly becomes exultant and boastful, declaring that misfortune has left him permanently (11:10). Others attribute the relief entirely to their own merit, saying, "This is all my own doing," and use their restored comfort as an excuse to doubt that the final Hour will ever come (41:50). More dangerously, some populations taste mercy after affliction only to begin scheming against divine revelations, prompting the stark reminder that God’s recording angels capture every plot, and "God schemes even faster" (10:21).
What does righteous conduct look like during trials?
Despite the severity of divine tests, true belief is demonstrated by maintaining moral obligations regardless of external pressures. The righteous do not pause their virtues when resources dwindle; they are defined as those who give to others in both prosperity and adversity, restraining their anger and pardoning people even under stress (3:134). Misfortune makes the need for mutual mercy acutely visible. When Joseph's brothers stand destitute before the mighty governor of Egypt, they openly admit, "misfortune has afflicted us and our family," using their severe hardship to plead for full measure and charity (12:88).
This endurance is anchored in a structural promise regarding how the world is ordered. Affliction is never absolute, nor is it isolated from divine mercy. The pairing of difficulty and relief is so fundamental that it is reiterated as a twin certainty: truly where there is hardship there is also ease; truly where there is hardship there is also ease (94:5–6).
Verses
All 10 verses, in mushaf order.
ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِى ٱلسَّرَّآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَٱلْكَـٰظِمِينَ ٱلْغَيْظَ وَٱلْعَافِينَ عَنِ ٱلنَّاسِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
who give, both in prosperity and adversity, who restrain their anger and pardon people- God loves those who do good-
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَىٰٓ أُمَمٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَأَخَذْنَـٰهُم بِٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّعُونَ
We sent messengers before you [Prophet] to many communities and afflicted their people with suffering and hardships, so that they could learn humility.
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا فِى قَرْيَةٍ مِّن نَّبِىٍّ إِلَّآ أَخَذْنَآ أَهْلَهَا بِٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَضَّرَّعُونَ
Whenever We sent a prophet to a town, We afflicted its [disbelieving] people with suffering and hardships, so that they might humble themselves [before God],
ثُمَّ بَدَّلْنَا مَكَانَ ٱلسَّيِّئَةِ ٱلْحَسَنَةَ حَتَّىٰ عَفَوا۟ وَّقَالُوا۟ قَدْ مَسَّ ءَابَآءَنَا ٱلضَّرَّآءُ وَٱلسَّرَّآءُ فَأَخَذْنَـٰهُم بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
and then We changed their hardship into prosperity, until they multiplied. But then they said, ‘Hardship and affluence also befell our forefathers,’ and so We took them suddenly, unawares.
وَإِذَآ أَذَقْنَا ٱلنَّاسَ رَحْمَةً مِّنۢ بَعْدِ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتْهُمْ إِذَا لَهُم مَّكْرٌ فِىٓ ءَايَاتِنَا ۚ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ أَسْرَعُ مَكْرًا ۚ إِنَّ رُسُلَنَا يَكْتُبُونَ مَا تَمْكُرُونَ
No sooner do We let people taste some mercy after some hardship has afflicted them, than they begin to scheme against Our revelations. Say, ‘God schemes even faster.’ Our messengersrecord all your scheming.
وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَـٰهُ نَعْمَآءَ بَعْدَ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتُ عَنِّىٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ
And if We let him taste mercy after some harm has touched him, he is sure to say, ‘Misfortune has gone away from me.’ He becomes exultant and boastful.
فَلَمَّا دَخَلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِ قَالُوا۟ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْعَزِيزُ مَسَّنَا وَأَهْلَنَا ٱلضُّرُّ وَجِئْنَا بِبِضَـٰعَةٍ مُّزْجَىٰةٍ فَأَوْفِ لَنَا ٱلْكَيْلَ وَتَصَدَّقْ عَلَيْنَآ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَجْزِى ٱلْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ
Then, when they presented themselves before Joseph, they said, ‘Mighty governor, misfortune has afflicted us and our family. We have brought only a little merchandise, but give us full measure. Be charitable to us: God rewards the charitable.’
وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَـٰهُ رَحْمَةً مِّنَّا مِنۢ بَعْدِ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ هَـٰذَا لِى وَمَآ أَظُنُّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ قَآئِمَةً وَلَئِن رُّجِعْتُ إِلَىٰ رَبِّىٓ إِنَّ لِى عِندَهُۥ لَلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ فَلَنُنَبِّئَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِمَا عَمِلُوا۟ وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ غَلِيظٍ
Whenever We let him taste some of Our mercy after he has been afflicted, he is sure to say, ‘This is all my own doing: I do not think the Hour will ever come, but even if I were to be taken back to my Lord, the best reward would await me with Him.’ We shall most certainly inform the disbelievers of what they have done and give them a taste of severe torment.
فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا
So truly where there is hardship there is also ease;
إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا
truly where there is hardship there is also ease.