What is meant by the prayer of the one who says, “I seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of Hellfire”?
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The questioner : The prayer of the one who says, “I seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of Hellfire”: does this mean that the discussion regarding Hellfire has ended? Is the meaning that he seeks refuge in Allah from committing sins that lead to Hellfire? Or does he seek refuge in Allah from Hellfire itself, and if he sins, he seeks forgiveness from Allah? Or does it include both?
The Shaykh : It includes both. He seeks refuge in Allah from the punishment of Hellfire, meaning from committing the causes that lead to the punishment of Hellfire, and from the punishment of Hellfire itself, meaning from the penalty of Hellfire if he commits the causes that necessitate it. This is because a person is between two things: either protection from sins, in which case he seeks refuge in Allah from committing the cause, or forgiveness for sins, in which case he seeks refuge in Allah from the effect of the cause, not just from the cause itself. And when we said a moment ago regarding protection from sins, this does not mean absolute protection, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 4251Hasan (Darussalam) and he said: Sahih Muslim 2749.
The Shaykh : It includes both. He seeks refuge in Allah from the punishment of Hellfire, meaning from committing the causes that lead to the punishment of Hellfire, and from the punishment of Hellfire itself, meaning from the penalty of Hellfire if he commits the causes that necessitate it. This is because a person is between two things: either protection from sins, in which case he seeks refuge in Allah from committing the cause, or forgiveness for sins, in which case he seeks refuge in Allah from the effect of the cause, not just from the cause itself. And when we said a moment ago regarding protection from sins, this does not mean absolute protection, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Every son of Adam commits sin, and the best of those who commit sin are those who repent.
كل بني آدم خطاء وخير الخطائين التوابونif you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would have pardoned them.
لو لم تذنبوا لذهب الله بكم ولجاء بقوم يذنبون فيستغفرون الله فيغفر لهم
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1463ما المراد من قول المصلي أعوذ بالله من عذاب جهنَّم📔 الشرح الممتع على زاد المستقنع - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.