The Devils Deception by Imam Ibn AL-Jawzi

T H E D E V I L ' S
D E C E P T I O N S
[ 7:7 ]
The Devil's Deception of Most Accomplished
Scholars (al-kdmilin min'I-'Uldma)
People with high ambitions acquired the religious sciences of
Qur'an, ryadith,.ftqh and literature. Iblis attempted to deceive (some
of) them using subtle techniques. He made them see themselves as
great people because of what they had gained and benefited others
with. Iblis excites some of these scholars because of the big effort
they put into gaining knowledge. He tells them to relax and dwell
into lusts because their sins will be forgiven by the knowledge they
have gained. If this scholar falls into such a trap it will result in his
destruction.
If he was smart enough not to fall into this trap, then he should
answer Iblis with three answers:
The first response: Scholars gained their advantage because of their
knowledge, but this knowledge is not worth anything without it
being acted upon. If a scholar did not act upon his knowledge,
he would be like someone who fed others his food and had none
left for himself.
The second response is to mention traditions that condemn those
who do not act upon the knowledge they have gained, such as
the Prophet's () description of the man who will be thrown in
hell with his intestines coming out of his body and says: I used to
order others to do good but never did myself, and I used to forbid
others from committing evil and used to commit it myself.121
Abu'l-Darda's (raeffyAiltihu 'anhu) said: Woe to he who does not
121
Bukhari #3267, and Muslim #2989.
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