"And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the bad deeds of our hands"
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh :"And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls" means we take refuge in Him from the evils of our souls. "Evils" is the plural of "evil," and this is because the soul has evils, as Allah the Exalted said: [Yusuf 12:53] The evils of the soul consist either of abstaining from acts of obedience or of desiring sins. These are the evils of the soul, which encompass either leaving what is obligatory or committing what is forbidden.
"And from the bad deeds of our hands" means we seek refuge in Allah from the bad deeds of our hands, because bad deeds have severe consequences. How many people have been afflicted by their own bad deeds? Even if nothing else were mentioned, there is what Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, mentioned in His saying: meaning turning away from the truth [Al-Ma'idah 5:49] This is one of the bad consequences: sins, may Allah protect us from them, lead a person to turning away from the obedience of Allah. The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, said: "Sins are the herald of disbelief".
They are three stages: minor sins are the herald of major sins, and major sins are the herald of disbelief. Because if the soul becomes accustomed to sin and arrogance in the face of the obedience of Allah, that leads to committing what is greater.
And I do not acquit myself. Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil, except those upon which my Lord has mercy
وَمَا أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِي إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي"And from the bad deeds of our hands" means we seek refuge in Allah from the bad deeds of our hands, because bad deeds have severe consequences. How many people have been afflicted by their own bad deeds? Even if nothing else were mentioned, there is what Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, mentioned in His saying:
If they turn away
فإن تولواthen know that Allah only intends to afflict them with some of their [own] sins
فاعلم أنما يريد الله أن يصيبهم ببعض ذنوبهمThey are three stages: minor sins are the herald of major sins, and major sins are the herald of disbelief. Because if the soul becomes accustomed to sin and arrogance in the face of the obedience of Allah, that leads to committing what is greater.