A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.
Forming a judgment on an issue before seeking the evidence for it.
Among the pitfalls in seeking knowledge is adopting a specific judgment on an issue and embracing it before examining the evidence.
This stems from caprice (hawa), and a seeker of truth must divest themselves of caprice before deducing a ruling.
For one who follows their caprice will never lack a specious argument to support their desires.
Indeed, Iblis claimed to have evidence for the validity of his arrogance in refusing to prostrate.
He said, "I am better than him; You created me from fire and created him from clay."
Committing a falsehood while acknowledging it to be wrong is one thing.
Yet all of that is less severe in the sight of Allah than attempting to justify it with evidence.
The former is an act of disobedience, while the latter is an attempt to legitimize sin, which leads to disbelief—may Allah protect us from that.