3 – It is recommended to make this transmitted supplication and to seek refuge in Allah from the four evils, for they are the root of every affliction and harm. Evil is of two kinds: either the torment of the barzakh (the interval between death and resurrection) or the torment of the Hereafter. What leads to them are the trials of life, the trial of death, and the trial of the Antichrist. The scholars unanimously encourage this supplication; only Tāwūs and the Ẓāhirī school considered it obligatory.
4 – The punishment of Jahannam is a torment whose severity and duration are beyond imagination, surpassing all human capacity. Allah says: “Those in the Fire will say to the keepers of Hell, ‘Call upon your Lord to lighten for us a single day of the punishment.’” ⦗40:49⦘ Its intensity is ceaseless.
5 – This invocation is specific to the final tashahhud, as stated in Muslim’s narration: “When one of you finishes the last tashahhud….” It is not to be said except after the tashahhud and after sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ.
6 – In the last sitting of the prayer, remembrance and supplication have been arranged in the finest order—one that conforms to the etiquette of supplication. It begins with praising Allah and recounting His perfections, then with invoking blessings and peace upon His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, and only then comes the supplication itself. A prayer attains its fruit only with these preliminaries. Shaykh al-Islām said: “The servant has been prescribed to win his Lord’s favor before supplicating by declaring, ‘All greetings belong to Allah,’ then by bearing witness to His oneness and to His Messenger’s mission, then by sending prayers upon His Messenger. After that he is told, ‘Choose whatever supplication you love,’ and let it be with humility and decorum, for a supplication issuing from a heedless heart is not answered.”
7 – Explanation of certain terms:
• “I seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of Jahannam”: seeking refuge means fleeing for safety, taking shelter, and seeking protection. Jahannam is one of the layers of the Fire, so named because of its grimness, darkness, and the depth of its pit.
• “and from the punishment of the grave”: rigorously authenticated reports have established the reality of the punishment and the bliss of the grave, and it is