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 humility to Allah.
Then when they reach higher levels of ecstasy they throw their
clothes at the singer. Some throw them after ripping them.
Some ignorant people tried to justify their action by saying: These
people are in a trance, so they must not be blamed. They said: When
[Prophet] Miisa ('alt!Jhis-saltim) became very angry because of his
people's worshipping the calf, he threw down the tablets and broke
them.
The reply is: Who can show that Miisa (alt!Jhis-saltim) threw them
down in order to break them? What is stated in the Qur'an is merely
that he threw them; how can we be certain that he intended to break
them?
But suppose we admit this of him: then we assert that he was in a
trance, so much so that had there been in front of him a sea of tire,
he would have plunged into it. But who is going to prove that these
people are in a trance, when they can distinguish the singer from
other people, and if there were a well there they would keep clear of
it? Further, what analogy can be drawn from the states of the Prophets
to those of these fools?
I was asked once about a $Uji lad who yells while walking in the
marketplace and yells while praying Friday prayer: "Was his prayer
valid?" I responded: "If during yelling he was unconscious then his
wutjii' broke. And if not, then he was pretentious."
This man was able to work to earn a living, but never worked. He
used to walk around with a container so people would put food in it
as a donation.
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