“When any one of you has finished the tashahhud, let him seek refuge with Allah from four things. In one wording: in the final tashahhud 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-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl).’

These are four matters from which the Prophet ﷺ instructed us to seek protection once we have completed the tashahhud—meaning before pronouncing the taslīm.

First: “I seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of Hell,” that is, from the Fire itself. You therefore ask Allah to shield you from its torment—both for the sins you have already committed, begging Him to pardon you, and for the sins you have not yet committed, asking Him to keep you far from them.

Second: “and from the punishment of the grave,” for the grave does indeed contain punishment—unceasing for the disbelievers and, for the disobedient Muslims, a punishment that may eventually cease. It is authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ passed by two graves and said, “They are being punished; yet they are not being punished for something regarded as great. One of them never protected himself from urine, while the other used to spread malicious gossip.”

Third: “and from the trial of life and death.” The trial of life is whatever tempts a person while he is alive and revolves around two issues: either ignorance—doubt and failure to recognize the truth—so that truth becomes confused with falsehood, he embraces the false and is ruined; or desire—base passion—whereby a person knows the truth yet does not want it, preferring falsehood instead.

Fourth: “and from the trial of death.” Some scholars say this is the trial of the grave, when the two angels question a person after burial about his Lord, his religion, and his prophet. Others say the trial of death is what occurs at the very moment of one’s passing