Allah—indeed, every deed that draws one nearer to Allah, every thought that draws one nearer to Allah—is part of remembering Allah.

‘…and to thank You’ means to show gratitude for blessings and for the repelling of misfortunes. How many favors Allah has poured upon us, and how many calamities He has driven away from us! We therefore thank Allah for all of that and ask Him to help us in doing so. Likewise, we ask Him to grant us excellence in worship. Excellence in worship rests on two pillars: sincerity to Allah—the stronger the sincerity, the better—and following the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Allah alone is the One who grants success.

1423 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When any of you recites the tashahhud, let him seek refuge with Allah from four things. He should say: ‘O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Hell, from the punishment of the grave, from the trial of life and death, and from the evil of the trial of the Antichrist (al-Masih al-Dajjal).’” Recorded by Muslim.

1424 – ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood for prayer, one of the last supplications he would say between the tashahhud and the taslim was: “O Allah, forgive me my past and future sins, what I have concealed and what I have made public, what I have committed in excess, and that of which You know better than I do. You are the One who brings forward and the One who defers; none has the right to be worshipped except You.” Recorded by Muslim.

[Explanation] The author—may Allah have mercy on him—mentioned these two hadiths in the context of the supplications for seeking protection and remembering Allah during the prayers. In the first of them, Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Prophet ﷺ said