4 Powerful Ways to Break Free from Heedlessness
One of the most
dangerous afflictions people can suffer from is heedlessness regarding their
Lord, Allah SWT. Heedlessness closes the doors to goodness, opens the doors to
evil, and leads to ruin and loss. Upon which Allah says, “And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn
and mankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes
with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear.
Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the
heedless.” (Al-A'raf: 179) Heedlessness disables the faculties of
perception and leads to destruction. When Pharaoh and his people were heedless
and denied the signs, Allah destroyed them by drowning. Allah says, “So We took retribution from them, and We drowned them in
the sea because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them.” (Al-A'raf: 136)
Moreover, heedlessness
is a path to the Hellfire. Allah says, “Indeed,
those who do not expect the meeting with Us and are satisfied with the life of
this world and feel secure therein and those who are heedless of Our signs. For
those their refuge will be the Fire because of what they used to earn.” (Yunus:
7–8) So whoever is heedless of his Lord and preoccupied with worldly
life, his end will be the Fire. At that time, he will regret on the Day of Judgment
and Regret his heedlessness. Allah says, “And warn
them, [O Muhammad], of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded;
and [yet], they are in [a state of] heedlessness, and they do not believe.” (Maryam:
39) And He says, “And [when] the true
promise has approached; then suddenly the eyes of those who disbelieved will be
staring [in horror, while they say],; rather, we were wrongdoers!'” (Al-Anbiya:
97)
So, if this is the fate
of the heedless, what are the means by which a Muslim can be saved from
heedlessness?
Means to Help a Muslim Avoid Heedlessness:
1.
Maintaining the Prayers:
Prayer is a fortress
against heedlessness and a constant connection with Allah, the Exalted.
Al-Hakim narrated in Al-Mustadrak, with a chain of narration authenticated
by Al-Albani, from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If anyone maintains these prescribed prayers will not be
recorded among the negligent.”
Additionally, being
keen on performing the night prayer protects a person from heedlessness. Abu
Dawood narrated with a chain of narration authenticated by Al-Albani, from
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If anyone prays at night reciting regularly ten verses,
he will not be recorded among the negligent.”
2. Constant Dhikr
(Remembrance of Allah) and Recitation of the Qur’an:
Dhikr protects the believer
from heedlessness. Allah says, “And remember your
Lord when you forget.” (Al-Kahf: 24) And He also says, “And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and
in fear without being apparent in speech - in the mornings and the evenings.
And do not be among the heedless.” (Al-A'raf: 205) Dhikr is the key to
spiritual awakening, the cure for spiritual forgetfulness, and one of the
greatest signs of faith. It is the path to peace of heart. Allah says, “Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by
the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts
are assured.” (Ar-Ra’d: 28) When a Muslim remembers his Lord, his heart
finds tranquility, and his faith increases. Whoever is in such a state has been
saved from heedlessness and has attained wakefulness.
Ibn Al-Qayyim said in Al-Wabil
Al-Sayyib: “The degree of a servant’s heedlessness of dhikr determines
his distance from Allah.”
He also said: “There is a desolation between the heedless and Allah, the Exalted,
that is only removed through dhikr.”
The best form of dhikr
is the Qur’an. Allah says, “And this [Qur'an] is a
blessed message which We have sent down.” (Al-Anbiya: 50) The noble
Sunnah confirms that the one who recites the Qur’an is saved from heedlessness.
In the Musnad of Al-Darimi, it is mentioned that Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud
(may Allah be pleased with him) said: “If anyone
prays at night reciting fifty verses, he will not be recorded among the
negligent.” In Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah, with an authentic
chain of narration, Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “If anyone prays at night a hundred verse, he will not be
recorded among the negligent.” This is clear evidence that
consistently reciting the Qur’an protects from heedlessness.
3. Attending
Funerals and Remembering the Hereafter:
Attending funerals and
visiting graves softens the heart and protects it from heedlessness, as it
reminds a person of his inevitable end. This serves as a wake-up call from
heedlessness and a sincere return to Allah SWT. Allah says, “And the Horn will be blown. That is the Day of [carrying
out] the threat. And every soul will come, with it a driver and a witness. [It
will be said], 'You were certainly in unmindfulness of this, and We removed
from you your cover, so your sight, this Day, is sharp.'” (Qaf: 20–22)
The Sunnah has
encouraged attending funerals because it reminds one of the Hereafter and helps
protect against heedlessness. In Sunan Ibn Majah, with a chain
authenticated by Al-Albani, from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him),
the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Visit the graves, for they will remind you of the
Hereafter.”
4. Keeping
the Company of the Righteous:
Avoiding the company of
the heedless and striving to accompany the righteous helps a person escape
heedlessness. Allah SWT says, “And keep yourself
patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the
evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them,
desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We
have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose
affair is ever [in] neglect.” (Al-Kahf: 28) Righteous companionship helps
in obeying Allah. The righteous compete in acts of obedience and closeness to
Allah, and this environment is supportive in protecting a Muslim from
heedlessness. Moreover, righteous companionship based on mutual cooperation in
the obedience of Allah is something Allah praises before His angels. In Sahih
Muslim, Abu Sa'id Khudri reported that Mu'awiya went to a circle in the
mosque and said: What makes you sit here?
They said: We are sitting here in order to remember Allah. He said: I adjure
you by Allah (to tell me whether you are sitting here for this very purpose)?
They said: By Allah, we are sitting here for this very purpose. Thereupon, he
said: I have not demanded you to take an oath, because of any allegation
against you and none of my rank in the eye of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)
is the narrator of so few ahadith as I am. The fact is that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)
went out to the circle of his Companions and said: What makes you sit? They
said: We are sitting here in order to remember Allah and to praise Him for He
guided us to the path of Islam and He conferred favours upon us. Thereupon he
adjured by Allah and asked if that only was the purpose of their sitting there.
They said: By Allah, we are not sitting here but for this very purpose,
whereupon he (the Messenger) said: I am not asking you to take an oath because
of any allegation against you but for the fact that Gabriel came to me and he
informed me that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, was talking to the angels
about your magnificence.
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