Sūrah Ash-Sharḥ The Relief: Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī Qurʾānic Rulings and Law

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahAsh-Sharḥ (Al-Inshirāḥ)MeccanDivine comfort and the principle of ease following hardship

Key Fiqh IssueAl-mashaqqa tajlib al-taysīr hardship generates legal ease (rukhṣah) in worship obligationsCore legal maximGrounds all legal dispensations (rukhṣah) in Islamic worship

School ComparisonAll four schools accept this maxim; scope differences: Ḥanafī widest application (tayammum most broadly); Mālikī: jamʿ (combining prayers) in rain; Shāfiʿī: stricter conditions for rukhṣah; Ḥanbalī: detailed travel rukhṣah conditionsUniversal maximScope of "hardship" that triggers legal ease varies significantly

Uṣūl PrincipleAl-yusra fī l-taklīf the principle of ease in legal obligationOne of five great maximsGoverns all rukhṣah (dispensation) rulings in Islamic law

Al-Qurṭubī derives from verses 5-6 "indeed with hardship comes ease indeed with hardship comes ease" (repeated twice) the Qurʾānic basis for one of the five great Islamic legal maxims: al-mashaqqa tajlib al-taysīr (hardship generates legal ease). The double repetition establishes an emphatic divine commitment: wherever genuine hardship exists in fulfilling an obligation, Islamic law provides a legal ease (rukhṣah or takhfīf).

Al-Qurṭubī maps the major rukhṣah (dispensation) categories grounded in this maxim: travel allows shortening (qaṣr) and combining (jamʿ) of prayers; illness allows tayammum instead of wuḍūʾ; severe cold allows wiping instead of washing limbs. The schools differ on how easily triggered these dispensations are: the Ḥanafī school has the broadest tayammum permission (triggered by any unavailability of water or severe harm from using it); the Shāfiʿī school has stricter conditions. He also derives from "fa-idhā faraghta fa-nṣab" (when you are done, devote yourself) the principle that ease in one obligation is followed by renewed effort rukhṣah is not an excuse to abandon ʿibādah but to continue it appropriately.

فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا Fa-inna maʿa l-ʿusri yusrā inna maʿa l-ʿusri yusrā Meaning: "Indeed with hardship comes ease indeed with hardship comes ease" Al-Qurṭubī: the double repetition uses the same "ʿusr" (hardship definite) each time, but "yusrā" (ease indefinite) is different each time scholars derive: one ʿusr cannot overpower two yusrāt; ease is always provided with hardship.

فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ فَانصَبْ وَإِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَارْغَب Fa-idhā faraghta fa-nṣab wa-ilā rabbika fa-rghab Meaning: "So when you have finished, devote yourself [to other tasks] and to your Lord direct your longing" Al-Qurṭubī: the command after completion of one obligation is not rest but renewed effort (naṣb); al-Qurṭubī derives that rukhṣah (legal ease) is not a license to rest from ʿibādah but to fulfill it appropriately without harm.

Al-mashaqqa tajlib al-taysīr (hardship generates ease) is one of the five great Islamic legal maxims it governs all rukhṣah (dispensation) rulings across the four schools.
The double "inna maʿa l-ʿusri yusrā" establishes: one ʿusr cannot overpower two instances of yusrā ease is always provided with genuine hardship.
Travel rukhṣah: qaṣr (shortening) and jamʿ (combining) prayers triggered by meeting travel conditions specified by each school (Ḥanafī strictest on qaṣr distance requirement).
Illness rukhṣah: tayammum permitted when using water would cause harm; wiping (masḥ) on wounds; sitting or lying prayer when standing is impossible.
Rukhṣah is not an excuse to abandon ʿibādah "fa-nṣab" (devote yourself) after completion shows that ease in one obligation is followed by renewed effort in another.

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