are the noblest line of Quraysh, and Quraysh itself is the noblest lineage of all the Arabs. He is therefore the choicest of the chosen. They know him well: they know his person, his ancestry, his tribe, and his homeland. Had they not known him, how could they have trusted him? And had he spoken in a tongue other than their own, how could they have understood his words?—“grievous to him is what causes you hardship” (Q 9:128).

The phrase ʿazīz (“grievous”) here means that any hardship is burdensome to him, peace and blessings be upon him. “What causes you hardship” (mā ʿanittum) refers to whatever weighs upon you; ʿanat denotes toil and difficulty. The Messenger, ﷺ, finds distress in whatever distresses his community, and he never desires hardship for them; rather, he wants ease and facility.

For that reason his sacred law is easy and accommodating. He ﷺ said, “I have been sent with the easy, upright religion.” Allah the Exalted says, “He has not placed upon you in the religion any hardship” (Q 22:78), and, “Allah does not intend to place upon you any hardship” (Q 5:6). Thus his law is gentle, in harmony with people’s capacities and the ability of those who are legally accountable, never burdening them with what they cannot bear.