c. The third is a brief pause after completing the whole recitation and before bowing, so that he may catch his breath.

Shaykh al-Islām said: The three imams—Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, and Aḥmad—and the vast majority of scholars did not deem it desirable for the imam to fall silent in order for the follower to recite; in their view such a pause is neither obligatory nor recommended but actually discouraged. The two pauses that are confirmed by the Sunnah are:
• the first, immediately after the opening takbīr;
• the second, a light pause after the recitation, merely to mark a separation and not long enough for the congregation to recite al-Fātiḥah.

As for the silence at the words, “nor those who are astray” (Qur’an 1:7), it is of the same nature as the brief breaths taken at the ends of verses, and this too is called a pause.

5 – “O Allah, distance me from my sins just as You have distanced the East from the West.”
Meaning: just as East and West can never meet, so let the supplicant and his sins never be brought together. This distancing may refer either to erasing past sins and not calling one to account for them, or to guarding him from future sins and protecting him from committing them.

6 – “O Allah, cleanse me of my sins as a white garment is cleansed of grime.”
Meaning: remove and wipe away my sins with that level of thoroughness, for the cleanness of a white garment is more evident than that of any other color.

7 – “O Allah, wash me of my sins with snow, water, and hail.”
Boiling water would normally remove stains and dirt more effectively than snow or hail, and for this reason the scholars have searched for the wisdom behind this expression. The finest explanation is that given by Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him: since sins possess heat and a burning quality and are themselves the cause of the fiery punishment, it is fitting that they be washed away by something that cools and extinguishes that heat—namely snow, water, and hail.