What If Your Hardship Is Actually A Preparation?

As-salam alaikum my beautiful sis!

I hope this meets you in the best of iman and health in sha Allah.

So, surely with hardship comes ease. Surely with ˹that˺ hardship comes ˹more˺ ease. (Qur’an 94:5-6)

Allah promises us ease twice in these verses. Sis, it’s important that we don’t miss out on what Allah is telling us here. The ease is always more than the difficulty we face, always. Not only that, but that one difficulty we face is accompanied by two eases. But why do we fail to believe the word of the Truthful (Allah) and believe the word of the liar (shaytan) instead? With hardship comes ease. Not after it, with it. So, why are we not rushing to find that ease then? It’s always there.

When we are tested, and we definitely will, it can seem like there is no way out, like we’re suffocating. But our hardships are not there to break us, they are there to help us grow. They are intricately designed by the Most Merciful, sent only because He loves us.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “If Allah wills good for someone, He afflicts him with trials.”

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5645

Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Bukhari

Your trials elevate you, only by the will of Allah. How we view our hardships matters because what we focus on grows. If you see everything as going wrong, everything will be going wrong. But if you pause to ask yourself, “what is Allah teaching me through this?”, you will discover a whole world of beautiful lessons and opportunities for growth in sha Allah. I thought about this recently, Allah made me realise it. What if your hardship was actually a preparation for all the blessings Allah has in store for you? When we ask Allah for things, we may get so fixated on getting it that we don’t take a moment to ask ourselves, “am I really ready to receive what I’m asking for?”. But of course Allah knows, and He knows whether what we’re asking for is good for us or not. And out of His Wisdom, Knowledge, Kindness, Love, and all His beautiful attributes, Allah sends us tests to elevate us, to bring us closer to Him.

The truth is that as human beings, we typically want it easy. Soft life warriors, this is for you (this is actually me calling myself out, not you lol). Of course Allah wants us to live a beautiful and fulfilled life, He gave us the keys to success, the Qur’an and Sunnah. “And it is Allah’s Will to lighten your burdens, for humankind was created weak.” (Qur’an 4:28). Throughout school, we go through series of tests that promote us to the next level. With an increase in rank, the tests get harder, so why do we expect any different out of life? If we all stayed at the same level, tested with the same things, tell me sis, would we ever grow? We’ll become lazy, and quite complacent actually.

When we are presented with challenges, hardships that feel as though we’re being pushed to the wall, we are invited to look for ways out of them as a means to develop ourselves. It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. “When the need for something becomes essential, you are forced to find ways of getting or achieving it” (Definiton from Oxford Languages). Your hardship pushes you to grow, to find innovate ways to get out of them. But sis, don’t just focus on wanting your hardship to end, or you might just miss out on the vital point(s) that Allah wants you to learn. Rather, look for how you can grow from your hardship. SubhanAllah once you start trying to implement this, you will realise that everything Allah sends to you is always good, and that He only does so because He loves you. Once you realise the beauty that comes out of your hardship in sha Allah, you will thank Allah for sending you that hardship. Without it, you wouldn’t be who you are today.

So, my beautiful sis, what if your hardship was a preparation? What if all the things you asked Allah for is already on its way to you? What if Allah has so much more in store for you and wants to protect you from self-sabotage? What if you only asked Allah for a rose, and He has prepared the whole garden for you? My dear sis, think good of Allah always and good will come to you in sha Allah. You have to remember that Allah could also be preparing a greater reward for you in the Hereafter through your trials. Hardships are never easy, and I do not intend to downplay them in any way. But hardships are always an opportunity to get closer to Allah, if we truly want to.

May Allah ease any pain you’re feeling, and hardship you’re going through. May Allah reward you endlessly, in this life and in the next, ameen.

Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri and Abu Huraira:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 5641, 5642

With love,

Latifah.

Founder, Tifah & Co.