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
he will hear, and the reverence of the Divine Being is what he will
witness?!
What guarantee has he that his sensations are not devilish insinuation
(al-wasdwis) and false suggestions (al-kht!Jtildt alfdsida), for the
phenomenon is one which is found in those who take a minimum
of food, such persons being victims of melancholia.
A man, however, may be immune from illusions even in this condition,
but if he covers himself with his garment and closes his eyes,
this gives play to the thought (khaydltil) and the delusion (auhdm) ,
and he sees illusions which he supposes to be what has been told of
the Divine Majesty.
We seek refuge with Allah from false suggestions and devilish insinuation.
Abii 'Ubaydullah al-Tasturl used to ask his wife on the first day of
Ramadan to seal his room door with mud and to give him a piece of
bread everyday through a hole in the wall. When the day of 'Id
came, she entered and found thirty pieces of bread in the room; he
had neither eaten nor drunk nor prepared himself for prayer, remaining
on one ablution to the end of the month.
In my opinion, this story is far from the truth for two reasons:
First: It is impossible for a person not to lose his ablution for an
entire month, either by sleeping, urinating, defaecating or breaking
wind.
Second: It is not permissible for a Muslim not to perform the
Friday prayer (aljumu'ah) and congregation prayers (aljama-