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
And Allah is the One who Assists.
Section One
Devil's Deception of them in Performing Wmfu'
(Ablution)
He convinces some of them to say, when making the intention for
wut/ii': I seek to lift the status of impurity. Then to say: I seek to gain
permission to pray. Then to say again: I seek to lift the status of
impurity.
The reason for this is ignorance in matters of religion. Intention is
to be made by the heart, not verbally. So to utter the intention is not
required. Also, there is no sense in repeating the intention.
Iblis deceives others by making them ask about the water they are
using to perform wutfii': "How do I make sure that this water is pure?"
He begins to make far-fetched assumptions regarding it. Sharrah
decreed that water is pure in principle, so there is no reason to sway
away from this principle unless there is a strong reason (to suspect) .
Others are deceived to use too much water, so they fall into four
disliked things:
Wasting water, wasting valuable time in something that is neither
obligatory nor encouraged, an implicit notion that SharI(ah is deficient
because he was not satisfied with its orders to use less water,
and the fourth is that wut/ii' might take too long to the point of
missing prayer, missing its beginning, which is its most virtuous part,
or missing prayer in congregation.
Iblis convinces these people that they are performing worship that
is necessary for their prayer to count. If he contemplated, he would
234