through my intercession on the Day of Resurrection is whoever says: ‘There is no god worthy of worship but Allah,’ sincerely from his heart.” (1)

When he saw that the Prophet ﷺ remained silent between the opening takbir and the recitation, he knew that he must be saying something, for there is no complete silence in the prayer. So he asked, “Tell me about your silence between the takbir and the recitation: what do you say?” The words, “What do you say?” indicate that he believed he was saying something, for he did not ask, “Are you silent?”

He replied: “O Allah, distance me from my sins as You have distanced the east from the west.” That is, he asked Allah to place distance between him and his sins, just as He has placed distance between the east and the west. The distance between the east and the west is the utmost comparison people use for two things that are far apart. People emphasize the distance between two things either by comparing it to that between heaven and earth, or to that between the east and the west. Thus, the meaning of, “Distance me from my sins,” is: Place distance between me and committing them, so that I do not commit them; and place distance between me and their punishment.

His saying, “O Allah, cleanse me of my sins as a white garment is cleansed of filth,” indicates that what is meant here are sins that he has already committed, for he said, “Cleanse me of them as a white garment is cleansed of filth”—that is, just as a white garment is washed when filth touches it, and it returns to being white. He specifically mentioned white because dirt shows most clearly on white, unlike black. Thus, in winter, black garments may remain for a month or more, whereas a white garment does not remain even a week without becoming soiled. This is why he said, “As a white garment is cleansed of filth.” Clearly, this refers to sins that he has committed, from which he is cleansed; and after this cleansing,