Discussion on struggling against the self to change some bad habits, including the phrase "I divorce you" or "I am divorced"

The questioner: This, our Shaykh... they frequently swear by divorce, "I divorce you," "I am divorced."

The Shaykh: This is not Damascene; you took it from us. Now, let me tell you what the Dumanis say.
Abu Malik: These people frequently pronounce divorce, so the sensible people complained about their situation to the judge. They said, "So-and-so, this has truly become excessive. This is a shameful matter; all the women... are divorced." He said, "I will deal with them." He went down into the square, gathered their sheikhs and leaders, and began to speak. He said, "O people, beware of such things." Finally, he said, "I divorce you, whoever swears by divorce, so I will show him."

The Shaykh: This is a Shami expression. The muezzin climbed the minaret and mentioned this phrase, and to make his words credible, he said, "I am divorced."
Abu Malik: This is our brother 'Ajaj, after he heard... .

The Shaykh: This confirms the wisdom that says, "Nature overpowers acquired habit." Yes, indeed. And in truth, part of the perfection of the guidance of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he said meaning that a person must struggle against his self. If he has a mistake, this mistake does not go away easily unless he persists in opposing it until his affairs are set right. The example is before you. When I grew up, I was of the Hanafi school, as you know. I studied some of the books of the Hanafis with my father (may Allah have mercy on him), and I studied withThe Shaykh : Sa'id al-Barhani, and I used to pray and say, as most of the praying people do, except for our brothers the Salafi people of the Sunnah, "I intend to pray for Allah the Exalted four rak'ahs of the obligatory 'Asr prayer, facing the qiblah, following this imam. Allahu Akbar."
Abu Malik: ...

The Shaykh: No, and there is a joke about this imam too. Perhaps this imam was in my mind as Zayd, and it turned out to be 'Amr. I wonder if the prayer is valid or not. The point is, then Allah (Mighty and Majestic) guided us to the Sunnah and, by the grace of the book "Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hady Khayr al-'Ibad" by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, we came to know that vocalizing the intention is a religious innovation. So, I tried to get rid of this habit. Six months passed, and the habit would overcome me. I would intend the prayer, and this innovation would come. Then the second prayer, I would return to my old habit. I would intend to pray like that, until I divorced it three times.
Abu Malik: But you did not swear by it!

The Shaykh : Of course.