Ash-Sharh, "The Relief" (or "The Expansion"), is the 94th surah — eight short verses revealed in Mecca, closely paired in tone and theme with the surah before it, Ad-Duha.1
What it is about
The surah begins with a rhetorical reminder of grace already given: "Did We not expand for you your breast? And We removed from you your burden which had weighed upon your back." Then comes its most quoted line, repeated back to back for emphasis: "For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease." Difficulty and relief are bound together; the ease is coming, and it is near. The surah ends with direction rather than rest: "So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship]. And to your Lord direct [your] longing."
Why it matters
Its central promise — that ease accompanies hardship — has made Ash-Sharh one of the most recited sources of comfort in the Quran, while its closing verses tie that comfort to gratitude and renewed effort. To read Ash-Sharh in Arabic with translations and recitation, open it on Quran.com.