8/ Condemnation of Heedlessness toward the Remembrance of Allah

When Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded that He be remembered in the Noble Quran, urging and encouraging it in many verses, He also warned against its opposite: heedlessness. True remembrance of Allah can only be attained by ridding oneself of heedlessness and keeping far from it. Allah combined these two matters in a single Quranic verse—namely, the command to remember Him and the prohibition against heedlessness—when He said near the end of Surah al-Araf:

“Remember your Lord within yourself, humbly and fearfully, and without raising your voice, morning and evening; and do not be among the heedless.”1.

The words “and do not be among the heedless” mean: do not be among those who forgot Allah, so He caused them to forget themselves. They were deprived of the good of this world and the Hereafter. They turned away from Him in whose remembrance and worship lie all happiness and success, and turned instead toward those with whom preoccupation brings only misery and disappointment. The verse therefore commands the remembrance of Allah and constancy in it, while warning against neglecting it and against following the path of the heedless.

Heedlessness is a grave disease. When it afflicts a person and takes hold of him, he no longer occupies himself with obeying, remembering, and worshipping Allah. Instead, he becomes preoccupied with distractions that draw him away from the remembrance of Allah. Even if he performs acts of obedience and worship, he does so in a sorry state and an improper manner; his deeds are bereft of humble reverence, submission, penitence, tranquility, awe, truthfulness, and sincerity.

For this reason, the Noble Quran warns against it in many passages,