Heedlessness

The imam referenced the following passages from the Quran in regards to todays reminder. The first is from Sura Yunus, ayat 7 which is translated to say:

 

Indeed, those who do not expect the meeting with Us and are satisfied with the life of this world and feel secure therein are those who are heedless of Our signs

And Sura Al Anbiya, ayat 1 which is translated to say:

[The time of] their account has approached for the people, while they are in heedlessness turning away.

Dear brothers and sisters, the heedless person wants to live only for the purpose to fulfil his desires, and not to tire his body except only for his desires, not to spend money except only for his enjoyments, not to miss a moment from his life except only his in his taste –  even if it affects his religion.

People who are heedless have a spiritual illness that no money, desire or wordly act can replace. This is why you see even the so-called idols of this world suffering in their lives with substance abuse and other scandals. For these people, this is the sleep of their heart, because the heart that is aware knows it was not created in this world to go deep into it at the cost of their hereafter

Dear brothers and sisters, before we go into the practical solutions to heedlessness, we need to have some means by which we can identify it within ourselves.

Some measures of identifying this are being lazy with prayers. This isn’t just missing the prayers only but leaving them to the last minute to pray or avoiding going to the masjid for no other reason that being lazy. Another measure is the attitude to disobedience. We live in a society where disobedience has the cloak of terms such as “rebellion” or “freedom” or “independence”. Disobedience is interwoven into so much of what we experience that often it is enjoyed with people increasingly being unashamed of it. We need to remind ourselves that disobedience, whether it be to parents, elders or people worthy of it, has a wordly cost to it as well as being a sign of heedlessness.

And speaking of the time and place we live in, another sign of heedlessness is the waste of time with no benefit. Each time and place has had its distraction. In our time and place it is so acutely present in our lives that we are in danger of being overwhelmed by the sheer options for this. The most common these days is the smart phone or internet-enabled devices. This religion isn’t strict in saying you cannot have time for leisure, but with everything in Islam, it is about finding that correct balance for the mind, body and soul.

We need to remind ourselves that the single biggest asset we possess isn’t money or wealth, it is our time. Nobody is going to live forever and so we need to think of time as a quantifiable and limited resource.

The reminder concludes with 7 reminders on how to cure heedlessness in ourselves.

1. Look beyond this world. Understand not the literal events and times you are living through, but get your mind thinking in the mindset of “How is what I am going through, a blessing, a test or a lesson?” “Is this a temptation being put in front of me?” “How can I feel my soul through this?” “How can I worship Allah SWT by living through this?” By doing this, your change your vision from the here and now, to the next life and thus are able to live this life avoiding heedlessness.
2. Understand your Creator. From the detailed explanation of the first ayat of the Quran to the 99 attributes of Allah SWT, we have a lifetime to understand our Creator before we are returned to Him. This is a great step in the cure.
3. Asking for forgiveness. That means taking ownership of your faults and addressing them. Only by asking Allah SWT for forgiveness can we aim to avoid repeating them in the future.
4. Avoid bad company. It’s a lot easier to be heedless when people around you are behaving the same way. There is a saying that we are the company we keep so bear that in mind so that we don’t fall into this trap. One method is pray as often as you can in masjid for congregational prayers. Not only is that a cure for heedlessness but it will also assist in avoiding bad company.
5. Avoid putting off good deeds till later. Remember, putting things off is a strategy of Shaytaan. We don’t know how long we have to do the right thing so take advantage of the present.
6. Don’t fall into the topic of death being taboo. This society avoids talking about it and yet it is the only certainty for us all. Remind yourself of this so that to keep you motivated to strive for the best of the next life.
7. Read Quran and do Dua. Ask of your Lord, ask to not be amongst the heedless and use it also to pray for others around the world that are in need of the help and mercy of Allah SWT.

And on a side note with this point, for those who don’t have alternative news sources, there is a group of Muslims that are going through, what can only be described as a living hell and a genocide. The Muslims in Burma are suffering hard testing times. May Allah SWT give them ease, give them mercy and give them sabr alongside all the oppressed Muslims in the world.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us take a moment to reflect on the reminder today and use it to reset our thinking and our attitude so that we are not of those who are forgotten by Allah SWT as warned by Allah SWT in the Glorious Quran.