—“that you must make it clear to the people and not conceal it” [3:187].
Hence, whenever Allah grants you knowledge, He has already taken from you a covenant that you will act upon it.
“Wa-ʿalā waʿdika” (“and upon Your promise”) means: the fulfilment of Your promise—of the good You have promised the people of righteousness and the punishment You have promised the people of wickedness. In this supplication, however, the speaker intends, “I stand upon Your promise of good,” for with these words you are seeking Allah’s favour.
“Aʿūdhu bika min sharri mā ṣanaʿt” (“I seek refuge in You from the evil I have wrought”): you are asking Allah to protect you from the harm produced by your own deeds. A person does good and is rewarded; he does evil and is punished, and his wrongdoing may even become a cause of his going astray, as Allah the Exalted says, “But if they turn away, know that Allah only intends to afflict them for some of their sins” [5:49]. Thus you seek refuge in Allah from the evil of what you yourself have done.
“Abūʾu laka bi-niʿmatika ʿalayya” means: I acknowledge Your vast, immeasurable favour upon me; “wa-abūʾu bi-dhanbī” means: I acknowledge my sin—so forgive me that sin, for You are the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Therefore, be keen to memorise this supplication and keep to it morning and evening: if you die during the day you will be among the people of Paradise, and if you die during the night you will be among the people of Paradise.
Imām al-Nawawī then cites additional reports, among them the ḥadīth of Thawbān (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ, whenever he concluded his prayer, would seek forgiveness three times and say: “Allahumma anta al-Salām wa minka al-Salām, tabārakta yā dhā al-jalāli wa’l-ikrām” (O Allah, You are Peace and from You comes peace; blessed are You, Possessor of majesty and honour).
“When he concluded” means: once he had uttered the taslīm. The very first thing you should do after finishing an obligatory prayer is to say, “Astaghfirullāh, astaghfirullāh, astaghfirullāh” three times. Why seek forgiveness when you have just performed an act of obedience? Because no act of worship is entirely free of deficiency or flaw, so you ask Allah to pardon whatever shortcomings occurred in it. In the same way, those who strive in night prayer, when they have finished