We will make smooth for him the path of ease (goodness)

We will make smooth for him the path of ease (goodness)

Verse five commenced with ‘fa amma man’ which is a conditional statement (kalimat ash-Shart) and essentially means that for the one who does this (gives in charity and fears, and confirms the truth) then as per the response in this verse Allah (swt) will make ease for him. By implication then if this person does not make that commitment then Allah (swt) will not make things easy for him and things will remain difficult. Yusra is the feminine equivalent of aysar which means the easiest and so Allah (swt) says that He (swt) will make the easiest easy for him. Allah’s gift to this person is that he finds doing good things easier to do and finds doing bad things harder. Many of us find the opposite that doing bad things is easy and doing good things is hard. This change in attitude is the gift you get in this dunya from Allah (swt). In Surah Al Balad there was reference to the path of righteousness being difficult and akin to a tough trail up a mountain but Allah (swt) wants to change our attitude towards difficulty and so when He (swt) talks about the one doing good deeds which apparently sounds difficult Allah (swt) says that He will facilitate for him the easiest thing and make that path easy for him.

In the Quran there are two words used for ease, yaseer and hayyin. Yaseer is a task that is done without any difficulty whilst hayyin is a task that is way beneath your ability, something insultingly easy like a maths professor having to do basic arithmetic. Yaseer in comparison is a task that is more suited to your skill set but which you can still complete with ease. In surah Al Hajj Allah (swt) says:

‘Strive hard for God as is His due: He has chosen you and placed no hardship in your religion, the faith of your forefather Ibrahim’ (Al Hajj 22:78).

Allah (swt) has not put any difficulty in our deen yet for some people things such as getting up in time for Fajr prayers is very hard, yet, for the messenger (saw) the prayer was not hard. Allah (swt) promised his messenger (saw):

‘And We will ease you to a state of ease’ (Al ‘Ala 87:8).

Allah (swt) is giving us the same option but there is a difference. In this verse there is the extra letter ‘seen’ (fasa) not present in Al ‘Ala. This means soon and so when Allah (swt) spoke to his messenger (saw) He (swt) said that He will make easy for him but in this verse Allah (swt) says to everyone else that He will soon make easy for them. The reason for this difference is due to the fact that the messenger (saw) was content, firmly on the path of Islam and not in a state of unrest. People other than the messenger (saw) are in a state of unrest, not tranquil perhaps due to sin and need calming down and so are advised that things will soon become easy if they persist in doing good deeds. This shows that the relationship between Allah (swt) and his messenger (saw) is very tranquil but ours it not. The word yasara was originally used to describe how easy it was to ride a horse once it was saddled up and hooked up with reins as opposed to riding it without these things. Just like the horse is set up to make it easier to ride, Allah (swt) is saying that he will make all of the arrangements necessary to make it easier for us to perform good deeds. So it is akin to saying that if you do good acts such as giving in charity and guarding against evil then it will be like Allah (swt) has placed you upon a comfortable riding horse making your journey much easier.

And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a (decreed) extent (At-Talaq 65:3)

All of the things you have to do to elevate your status with Allah (swt) will be made easy for you. If you have taqwa of Allah (swt), He (swt) will make in every one of his decisions some ease for him and will provide for that person from where he could not even imagine. In a hadith the messenger (saw) said, ‘Work (in good deeds) because everyone has had made easy for them what they have been created for’ (Sahih Al Bukhari). Everyone has been predisposed to do good and certain things have been made easy for him because whatever has been written for you (in your destiny) will be made easy for you.

From a human nature point of view the things one does with regularity such as exercising and dieting eventually becomes easier. It is simply a matter of conditioning oneself. For example, getting up for work is always difficult the first few days but after a number of years it becomes much easier and routine. The person who thinks it is hard ends up failing and losing their job. Once you accept that you have to be at work and on time, you will take the appropriate steps with determination to achieve success at work. In the same way one must condition himself to do good because if you have a defeatist attitude it will never become easy for you and Allah (swt) will not make it easy for you. This is an important lesson for us in addressing and changing our obedience to Allah (swt). Ease comes when you accept the fact that you have to make an effort. You do not complain about it, rather you do it because you affirm that with this will come reward from Allah (swt). Allah (swt) talks about this ease in many places in the Quran and also that He (swt) intends to make life easy upon us through his instruction, ‘Allah wishes to lighten (the burden) for you; and man was created weak’ (An-Nisa 4:28).

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