Heedlessness is, in a sense, the veil and the seal placed upon a person’s heart, cutting them off from understanding the truth. In other words, it is a lock that closes the gates of the heart, a curtain drawn across it, plunging it into darkness. It is also the ignorance that distances a person from knowledge; from another perspective, it is the ignorance and the forces of ignorance set against reason and the forces of reason. And from yet another perspective, it is the heart’s descent, driving a person from the finest stature to the lowest of the low.
**Al-Aʿrāf, 179:** و لقد ذرأنا لجهنم کثیرا من الجن و الإنس لهم قلوب لا یفقهون بها و لهم أعین لا یبصرون بها و لهم آذان لا یسمعون بها أولئک کالأنعام بل هم أضل أولئک هم الغافلون
“Indeed, We have created many jinn and humans for Hell. They have hearts with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle—nay, even more astray. They are the heedless.”
**Al-Naḥl, 108:** أولئک الذین طبع الله على قلوبهم و سمعهم و أبصارهم و أولئک هم الغافلون
“They are the ones whose hearts, hearing and sight God has sealed because of their many sins. They are the truly heedless.”
**Al-Kahf, 28:** و اصبر نفسک مع الذین یدعون ربهم بالغداه و العشی یریدون وجهه و لا تعد عیناک عنهم ترید زینه الحیاه الدنیا و لا تطع من أغفلنا قلبه عن ذکرنا و اتبع هواه و کان أمره فرطا
“Keep yourself patiently in the company of those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure. Do not turn your eyes away from them in pursuit of the adornments of worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who follows his own desires and whose conduct is excessive.”
My God! If I praise You, it is for the blessings You have bestowed upon me; if I glorify You, it is by Your will; if I declare You holy, it is by Your power; and if I proclaim Your oneness [that is, say لااله الا الله], it is by Your might. If I look, I look by Your mercy; and if I take a bite, I bite into Your bounty.
My God! The one who is not consumed by longing to remember You, and whom the journey to You does not gather up [that is, make ready to set out], is living a dead life, and will die in regret.
My God! The gaze of those who see with the inward eye reaches its limit in You (before reaching You, their sight has exhausted all its strength). Those whose ears have come to know the whispers within people’s breasts have learned of them through You alone. Nothing stands in the way of their seeing what they seek. You have torn aside the veils of heedlessness between them and You. They have found repose in Your light and drawn breath from Your breeze. Their hearts have become gardens of Your awe, and their eyes are bound to Your power. Their spirits have drawn near to their station of holiness. Thus they have come to dwell in the dignity of Your companionship and the humility of speaking Your name. You have turned to them like a compassionate friend, listened to them as a trusted companion, answered them with affection, and whispered to them as an intimate friend.
So bring me, too, to the station they have reached. Turn me from thoughts of myself to remembrance of You. Open to me every door that lies between me and the kingdom of Your majesty, and lift from me every veil of heedlessness, so that You may let my spirit dwell amid the radiance of Your Throne and grant it a place before Your light. Surely You have power over all things.
My God! How terrifying a path is one on which the hope of You does not accompany me; how long and distant a journey is one on which hope in You does not guide my way. Whoever clings to a cord other than Yours is left disappointed, and …