Heedlessness, in its essence, is the slumber of the heart—a state where one, even amidst daily duties and acts of worship, forgets Allah. Those who lose sight of the Divine in the flow of life are called ghafilun, the heedless ones. They fail to realize that this world and their very existence are sustained solely by the manifestations of Allah’s will.
In the realm of Tasawwuf, heedlessness is deemed one of the gravest calamities, for it signifies enslavement to one’s ego and desires. Abu Ja’far Sinan [quddisa sirruhu] states that neglecting repentance for a sin is far worse than the sin itself, as it shows a lack of awareness of one’s need for Allah’s forgiveness.
Bayazid al-Bistami [quddisa sirruhu], reflecting on his spiritual trials, said:
"I contemplated all the ways Allah had chastised my soul for its errors and realized that the most severe of all punishments was heedlessness. To forget Allah, even for a moment, is more harrowing than the fires of hell."
The dervishes identify several causes of heedlessness:
Consuming unlawful or doubtful provisions.
Associating with those who deny the people of Allah.
Spending time in idle talk with worldly individuals.
Valuing material possessions excessively.
Neglecting or abandoning daily invocations (awrad).
