Unshakeable Faith in Allah and The Promise of Ease After Hardship By Al-Hafiz Ibn Abi Dunya

Allah, the Most High, says: "For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease." (Ash-Sharh 94:5–6). The believer's stability in this life never came from his circumstances being easy — it comes from what he knows about his Lord. A heart certain of Allah's mercy, wisdom, and promise stays firm when everything around it shakes.

Unshakeable Faith in Allah and The Promise of Ease After Hardship brings together two texts by Imam Ibn Abi Dunya in a single volume: Unshakeable Faith in Allah and The Promise of Ease After Hardship. The first builds the foundation — certainty (yaqin) in Allah and firm trust in His decree. The second applies it directly to the trials every believer meets, gathering the reminders that Allah's relief follows hardship for the one who is patient and turns back to Him.

What This Book Covers

Certainty (Yaqin) in Allah and His Decree

Drawing on the Qur'an, authentic hadith, and the words of the Salaf, Ibn Abi Dunya lays out what real certainty in Allah means — not fleeting emotion, but a settled confidence in His mercy, His wisdom, and His promise that steadies the heart under trial.

The Promise of Ease After Hardship

The second text gathers the reminders around Allah's assurance that relief accompanies difficulty, calling the reader to patience (sabr), reliance upon Allah (tawakkul), and hope in His mercy — reframing hardship as a passing measure with reward and ease on its other side.

An Anchor for Times of Trial

Read together, the two texts give the believer a Sunnah-grounded response to fear, loss, and uncertainty: know your Lord, trust His promise, hold to patience, and wait for the relief He has guaranteed.

About the Author

Imam Abu Bakr Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Dunya (208–281 AH) was a prolific hadith collector and scholar of the early period, known for his compilations on the states of the heart, patience, and the Hereafter. He studied under teachers including Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and tutored the children of the Abbasid caliphs. Published by Dar as-Sunnah Publishers.

Who This Book Is For

Every believer walking through hardship — grief, anxiety, loss, or uncertainty — who needs a grounded, Sunnah-based reminder that ease is coming. Equally valuable for anyone seeking to strengthen their certainty in Allah and deepen their tawakkul in daily life.

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The same author's Having Good Thoughts of Allah treats the husn al-dhann and tawakkul this book rests on, and Descriptions of Paradise turns to what the patient are promised. Ibn al-Qayyim's Trials and Tribulations examines the wisdom behind hardship itself. See also our guide to the best books on purifying the soul (tazkiyah).