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What Is a Life of Ease, Anyway?
And How to Live It as a Muslim
Khalisa
April 04, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
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“Islam is too strict” vs. “Islam gave me peace I couldn’t find anywhere else.”
Why does life feel so hard for some and so peaceful for others—when they’re both Muslim?
So which one is it?
The truth is: ease has little to do with external circumstances. It’s an internal alignment with the One who controls all circumstances.
“Indeed, with hardship comes ease.”
This verse doesn’t say after hardship. It says with. Meaning ease and hardship can exist side by side. And the kind of ease Allah ﷻ gives is not the same as the comfort of the dunya.
“And We will ease you toward ease.”
Allah ﷻ doesn't just promise ease with hardship — He promises to guide you toward it.
It’s like being in water. When the waves get too high, you don’t panic. You don’t tread. You float. You surrender to the current instead of burning energy fighting it. Focusing on keeping your head above water. And when the water calms, you start swimming again.
Ease isn’t a life without waves.
It’s learning how to float when things get heavy — trusting that He will carry you when you can’t carry yourself.
Ease is surrendering your way to His.
What Does a Life of Ease Feel Like?
A life of ease isn’t about escaping hardship — it’s being anchored through it.
It feels like:
A calm heart, even when life is chaotic. Even in the midst of sadness, your heart will feel calm. It’s a tranquility that is kind of hard to explain.
Certainty (yaqeen) in Allah’s ﷻ help and provision so you can take action without friction.
Seeing blessings and solutions through the problems.
Flowing with life instead of fighting it or forcing change.
Following the Qur’an like a map that leads straight to the pleasure of Allah ﷻ.
Being grateful that when the world feels like it’s crashing all around you, you’re thankful it isn’t crashing down ON you.
“Whoever fears Allah – He will make for him ease in his matter.”
Ease makes it easier to act on what you know is right. It quiets anxiety, removes resistance, and keeps you moving forward.
It’s not “easy” in the dunya sense.
It’s ease in the soul. And that’s far better.
“You Don’t Have to Suffer.”
When I was pregnant, I took a breastfeeding class. The lactation nurse was gentle and helpful.
A month later, I was in labor — trying for a natural birth. She happened to be on the unit that day, saw my name, and came to check on me.
She said, “You’re managing the pain really well. Just remember — you don’t have to suffer. There are options.”
Then she looked me in the eyes and asked:
“Are you suffering?”
That question stuck with me. A few hours later, after breathing through contractions as long as I could, I calmly asked for the epidural. Not because I was weak — but because I knew when pain was becoming suffering.
That’s the point.
We’re taught to believe life is only meaningful if it’s painful. “No pain, no gain”, right?
But Allah ﷻ did not design Islam to hurt us. He designed it to liberate us.
"He has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty..."
Ease is available. We don’t have to live life on hard mode— but it comes through Allah’s ﷻ guidance, not the dunya’s shortcuts.
“Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship.”
Why Does Islam Feel Hard for Some and Easy for Others?
The short answer? Your nafs.
I like to compare the different states of the nafs to the gears in a car:
Park is death because (in most cases) once our time is up - it’s up.
Reverse is the nafs al-ammara because we are heading in the opposite direction of our Lord and Jannah. (12:53)
Neutral is the nafs al-lawwama because we’re making progress but it feels really slow. Often feeling like you’re walking on a treadmill. (75:2)
Drive is the nafs al-mutma’inna because we are actively heading in the direction of our Lord and our promised home. (89:27)
The nafs al-lawwama is essential for repenting and accountability but it’s not meant for us to stay in that state of struggle for long.
“Indeed, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.”
A life of ease means moving into drive — becoming the soul that is at peace.
The soul that is pleased with all that has been given to it and is seeking the pleasure of Allah ﷻ.
Because once your nafs is calm, your actions stop feeling heavy.
Worship becomes your lifestyle.
Discipline becomes second nature.
And suddenly — life feels lighter. Smoother. Freer.
Though you have to continue to purify your heart or your nafs al-ammarrah will begin to overpower you again.
How Do You Get a Life of Ease?
It doesn’t come from hustle. It comes from harmony with Allah ﷻ.
Here’s what you need:
Tawakkul
You don’t need to know how it’ll work out — just that it will, if Allah ﷻ wills it.
“And whoever puts his trust in Allah – He is sufficient for him.”
Shukr
It opens the door to clarity. It lets you see the blessings already around you.
“If you are grateful, I will surely increase you…”
Know Your Lord
Not just His commands — His names, His mercy, His wisdom. When you know Him, trust becomes natural. The best way to learn more about Allah ﷻ will always be from the Qur’an. Engage with it daily.
“The more you know Allah, the more you trust Him.”
Obey Despite the Resistance
Ease follows obedience, not the other way around. It gets lighter after you say yes to Allah ﷻ.
“But as for he who feared the standing before his Lord and restrained the soul from [its] desire, then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge.”
Taqwa (God-consciousness)
Be mindful of Him and His ever-watchful presence and let that guide your actions. It’ll be your compass through the distractions, keeping you along the straight path.
“And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him a way out.”
Realign Your Intentions Often
Even acts of worship can feel heavy when your “why” gets blurry. Keep them clear. Keep them for Him ﷻ.
Purify Your Heart
Become an observer of yourself, remove as many sins, negative habits, and limiting beliefs as you can. Refine your character. Strive to align yourself with the descriptions of the believers as defined by Allah ﷻ and demonstrated by the Prophet ﷺ.
Sadaqah
Give from the best of you. Charity isn’t just monetary. Give what you have to give.
"As for he who gives and fears Allah, and believes in the best [reward], We will ease him toward ease."
Know the Nature of this Life.
Not just its purpose of testing us but the very nature of it.
This dunya isn’t designed to fulfill you. Knowing that sets you free.
“And this worldly life is nothing but amusement and diversion. But the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah. Will you not then reason?”
“Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting, and multiplying in wealth and children—like the example of rain that produces growth, but soon it withers…”
The dunya looks beautiful, but it is not built to satisfy the soul. When we try to squeeze meaning and value out of something Allah ﷻ told us is temporary and deceptive, we end up exhausted and anxiously confused from chasing it.
Understanding how the world is creates so much ease because you stop expecting things from it that only Allah ﷻ and the akhirah can give you.
“Whatever you have will end, but what Allah has is lasting…”
Ease begins when you stop fighting to make this life into something it's not — and start flowing with the purpose it was created for.
This life is to test our hearts.
It’s a journey to purification.
It’s a temporary stop.
And when you treat it that way, you realize that many things just really aren’t that deep. They’re not as big of a deal as we make them out to be.
It’s not a life free of hardship, tears, and struggle because that contradicts the purpose and nature of this life.
Ease is flow.
Adaptability. Pivoting quickly because your feet aren’t rooted where you stand.
It almost feels effortless, subhanallah.
We want to flow through this life like a fish in a river who sees a rock in its way and just swims around instead of trying to move it.
The world doesn’t get softer, your grip on it does. Instead, you hold firm to the words of Allah ﷻ; the rope of Allah ﷻ.
You don’t need to suffer to be righteous.
You don’t need to struggle to be worthy.
You need to stop carrying what Allah ﷻ never asked you to carry.
Ease is the internal state of the nafs al-mutma’inna.
It doesn’t mean no hardship — it means that no matter what goes on around you, it doesn’t cause your iman, yaqeen, and tawakkul to be shaken by it.
Ease comes from Allah ﷻ — and returns to Him.
Let go.
Consent to His guidance.
Trust Him.
And walk the path that’s meant to lead you home.
Apply for my 1:1 coaching program, Life as He Intends, and let’s work together to help you go from stress and overwhelm to a life of ease, peace, and spiritual fulfillment.
Assalamu alaikum, until next time, in sha Allah
—Khalisa