"DO YOU THINK THAT YOU WILL ENTER PARADISE DESPITE THAT THERE HAVE NOT YET COME UPON YOU CIRCUMSTANCES AS OF THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY BEFORE YOU? THEY WERE AFFLICTED BY HARDSHIP AND SUFFERING AND WERE SO SHAKEN DOWN THAT THE PROPHET, AND THOSE WHO BELIEVED WITH HIM, BEGAN TO SAY: "WHEN THE HELP OF ALLAH (WILL COME)?" BEHOLD, THE HELP OF ALLAH IS NEAR. (SURAH AL-BAQARAH:214)

Part 1

This verse seems to suggest that nobody shall enter Paradise unless he has gone through hardships and suffering, although, Quranic statements and sayings of the Holy Prophet ﷺ prove that many sinners will enter Paradise simply because of the grace, mercy and forgiveness of Allah Almighty, and that they shall undergo no hardship either. This is because hardship and suffering have different levels. The lowest degree is to resist against one's own inner self and the Satan, or resisting the enemies of faith in correcting one's beliefs. Every Muslim goes through this degree of hardship. Further to this there are medium and higher levels of hardships. The higher the level of hardship one goes through determines his place in the Jannah (Paradise). In a Hadith Rasool Allah ﷺ has said, "The worst hardships and sufferings are faced by the Prophets of Allah. And then by those who are close to them."

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi RE