…of sins is the neglect of obligations, not the commission of prohibitions; and the prohibitions themselves occur only because the obligations have been abandoned. Hence the root of every sin is the failure to perform what is obligatory, just as the root of every pain is the loss of health. For this reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach them, in the “sermon of need,” to say: “We seek refuge in Allah from the evils within ourselves and from the ill consequences of our deeds.” Thus he sought refuge from the soul’s own evil, which springs from its sins and errors, and he sought refuge from the evil outcomes of deeds—that is, their punishments and pains.

His phrase “from the ill consequences of our deeds” (wa-min sayyiʾāti aʿmālinā) may refer to the evil inherent in the deeds themselves, or to their punishments, for the term sayyiʾāt in the Book of Allah sometimes denotes whatever harms a person, and sometimes denotes evil actions. The Exalted says, “If good touches you, it grieves them; but if a misfortune befalls you, they rejoice at it” (Āl ʿImrān 3:120), and He says, “When a misfortune befalls them because of what their own hands have sent ahead, they fall into despair” (al-Rūm 30:36).