'-s-r

Description

The Arabic root ع-س-ر ('ayn-sīn-rā') conveys the core meaning of difficulty, hardship, constraint, and straitened circumstances, both material and spiritual. In the Quran, it frequently appears in contrast with yusr (ease), establishing a fundamental theological principle that hardship and ease are divinely ordained states that alternate in human life, and that Allah does not burden souls beyond their capacity. This root carries significant moral weight in Quranic discourse, particularly in passages emphasizing that relief follows difficulty and in legal contexts discussing financial hardship as grounds for extending debt repayment or modifying obligations.