Why Is Man Always in Hardship?
The Holy Quran emphasizes that humans live in adversity and difficulty. But what is this hardship for?
We read in verse 4 of Surah Al-Balad: “We have created the human being to face a great deal of hardship.”
Based on this verse, humanity has been created to be in difficulty and suffering. This world is a place full of hardship and adversities.
In his Al-Mizan Quran Exegesis, Allameh Tabatabaei says this verse tells us that hardship and difficulties are surrounding us in all aspects of our life.
When man goes after every blessing, he seeks it pure and free from any difficulty. But the world is not like that. In this world, we attain everything with a certain amount of hardship. For example if we want to eat something, we need to spend time cooking a meal. In order to have some rest, we need to work hard to have the money to buy or rent a house. Everything we accomplish has been achieved with a lot of difficulties and even after it is attained, it contains all sorts of limitations.
We may think that some people face no difficulties and problems in life because they are affluent and well-to-do. But that is not the case at all. This world is a world of suffering and facing hardships.
Pure joy and happiness cannot be achieved in this world. We can experience it in the next world. The comfort, peace and happiness awaiting us in the Hereafter make the hardships and sufferings in this world tolerable.
In other words, it can be said that the hardships and difficulties we face in this world are what we pay to reach the happiness awaiting us in the next world.
