What he said after the opening takbir
Jabir gives it in the order it was said.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي لأَحْسَنِ الأَعْمَالِ وَأَحْسَنِ الأَخْلاَقِ لاَ يَهْدِي لأَحْسَنِهَا إِلاَّ أَنْتَ وَقِنِي سَيِّئَ الأَعْمَالِ وَسَيِّئَ الأَخْلاَقِ لاَ يَقِي سَيِّئَهَا إِلاَّ أَنْتَ
Allāhumma-hdinī li-aḥsani-l-aʿmāli wa aḥsani-l-akhlāq, lā yahdī li-aḥsanihā illā ant. Wa qinī sayyiʾa-l-aʿmāli wa sayyiʾa-l-akhlāq, lā yaqī sayyiʾahā illā ant
“O Allah, guide me to the best deeds and the best character. None guides to the best of them but You. And protect me from bad deeds and bad character. None protects from the worst of them but You.”
Where this comes from
It asks for both halves and gives the same reason twice: nobody else does this. Deeds and character are named together each time, as one thing.
The full narration
It was narrated that Jabir bin Abdullah said:"When the Prophet (ﷺ) started to pray, he would say the takbir, then say: 'Inna salati wa nusuki wa mahyaya wa mamati lillahi rabbil-alamin, la sharika lahu, wa bidhalika umirtu wa ana min al-muslimin. Allahummahdini liahsanil-amali wa ahsanil-akhlaqi la yahdi li ahsaniha illa anta wa qini sayy'al-a'mali wa sayy'al-ahaqi la yaqi sayy'aha illa ant. (Indeed my salah (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of all that exists. He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am one of the Muslims. O Allah, guide me to the best of deeds and the best of manners, for none can guide to the best of them but You. And protect me from bad deeds and bad manners, for none can protect against them but You
Source
Sunan an-Nasā'ī · 896
- Abu Ghuddah: Sahih
- Al-Albani: Sahih
- Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad Sahih