253 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When one of you has recited the tashahhud, let him seek refuge in Allah from four things and say: ‘O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Jahannam (Hell), from the punishment of the grave, from the trial of life and death, and from the evil trial of the False Messiah, the Antichrist (al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl).’” Agreed upon.

In another wording recorded by Muslim: “When one of you has finished the final tashahhud…” (1)

Vocabulary of the ḥadith

– “let him seek refuge in Allah”: The root form of aʿūdhu has a silent ʿayn and a ḍammah on the wāw; the ḍammah was transferred to the ʿayn, for it is heavy on the wāw, which was then quiesced. One says: istaʿadhtu billāh or ʿudhtu bihi maʿādh(an) / ʿiyādh(an), meaning “I sought shelter and protection with Him.” In Arabic usage, istiʿādhah denotes seeking refuge and taking protective shelter.

– “Jahannam”: the Fire itself or one of its layers. It is so named because of its harshness, darkness, and the remoteness of its depths.

– “fitnah”: a term for testing and trial, whether during life or at death. It is frequently applied to situations that end in a blameworthy choice, and by extension came to signify sin, disbelief, fighting, and the like.

– “al-maḥyā and al-mamāt” (life and death): both are verbal nouns with the prefixed mīm. For triliteral verbs whose middle root letter is weak, the verbal noun and the nouns of time and place share the same form. What is intended here is whatever befalls a person during his lifetime, at the moment of death, and in the grave. The trial of life refers to what one fears of deviation and misguidance and to the temptations and adornments of this world.