This is one of those ayat that gets turned into a poster. Hang in there, things will get better. That reading isn't wrong. But it misses the shape. The classical reading is precise. *Al-ʿusr* — the hardship — appears with *al-* both times. The same hardship. *Yusrā* — ease — appears without *al-* both times. A different ease, each time. One hardship, two eases. The math is in your favor. The other thing the ayah doesn't say is *after.* It says *maʿa.* With. The ease isn't waiting on the other side of the hardship. It's running alongside it, somewhere you haven't looked yet.