• “Purify him from sins”: The root verb naqā (naqa, yanqī, naqāwatan/naqāʾan) means “to cleanse, to rid of impurity.” Hence, naqqih (“purify him”) asks that he be cleansed of the filth of the sins and misdeeds that have soiled him.

• Snow (thalj): Congealed water, whether it falls from the sky or gushes from the earth; plural: thulūj.

• Hail (barad): Spherical pellets that descend from the clouds.

• “As a white garment is cleansed of dirt”: White cloth is singled out because the removal of stains from it is more apparent than from garments of other colours.

• “Replace his home with a better home”: Grant him, in place of the worldly abode he has left behind, the home of Your honour in Paradise.

• “And a family better than his family”: This replacement may be literal—new relatives granted to him in the Abode of Honour—or qualitative, such that the elderly are returned youthful and those of bad character become people of good character.

• “Admit him into Paradise”: Paradise is the collective name for every delight Allah has prepared for His righteous servants—bliss no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, and that has never crossed the mind of any human being.

• “Protect him from the trial of the grave”: The trial itself is inevitable; what is sought is safety from its evil. The imperative qih (“protect him”) derives from a verb whose first and last radicals are weak; in the imperative both weak letters are dropped, leaving a single consonant followed by the pronominal suffix referring to the deceased for whom the prayer is offered.

• “And from the torment of the Fire”: A plea that Allah shield him from a punishment whose severity, horror and duration are beyond imagination.