Now, it is self-evident that the soul’s evil consists in sinful deeds; hence “the evil consequences of our deeds” comprise both the sins themselves and the punishments that follow them. In this way the supplication seeks refuge from two classes of “evils”: the evil actions and the retribution they incur. The same pattern appears in the supplication we are instructed to say during the prayer: “I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Jahannam, from the punishment of the grave, from the trial of life and death, and from the trial of the Messiah al-Dajjal.” Thus we are commanded to seek protection from punishment—whether the punishment of the Hereafter or of the intermediary state—and from whatever leads to it, as well as from the trial of life and death and from the trial of the Messiah al-Dajjal. The Prophet then singled out that specific trial after mentioning the general trials, because the tribulation of the Messiah al-Dajjal is the gravest of all, as confirmed in the sound hadith: “From the creation of Adam until the Hour is established, no trial will be greater than the trial of the Messiah al-Dajjal.”