Between Curse and Heedlessness

Published in May 17, 2018

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

Introduction:

1- We are still tackling and asserting the Quranic fact that God desires no injustice for the humankind and that He is never unjust towards the humankind; the human beings are the one who commit injustices against their souls or themselves. Hence, the Quranic verses that mention Hell-torment serve to preach and warn the living human beings so that they avoid being deceived by Satan the outcast and the expelled (and his progeny of devils) who is bent on taking with him as many human beings as possible into the Hell-torment on the Last Day.

2- The vast majority of people tend to be oblivious, heedless, and unaware of the Truth and the Last Day; they focus on the transient life within this temporary world and this makes them forget God and the Last Day. Hence, this results in the fact that God will exclude them from His mercy; they will be outcast, cursed, expelled and banished from His mercy; this means that they will enter into Hell for eternity after the Day of Judgment.

3- We focus now on the topic of being heedless and unaware as this is the direct cause of being cursed/expelled and removed from the mercy of the Dominant, Compassionate Lord God. We tackle this topic further in the points below.

Firstly: God never forgets and He is never unaware or heedless:

1- This fact is repeated several times in the Quranic text: "...and God is not unaware of what you do." (2:74, 2:85, 2:140, 2:149, and 3:99); "...and God is not heedless of what they do." (2:144 and 27:93); "...Your Lord is not heedless of what you do." (6:132).

2- God is never heedless or unaware of all things that occur in the heavens and the earth or of the evil deeds of the unjust ones: "We created above you seven pathways, and We are never heedless of the creation." (23:17); "To God belongs the future of the heavens and the earth, and to Him all authority goes back. So worship Him, and rely on Him. Your Lord is never unaware of what you do." (11:123); "Do not ever think that God is unaware of what the unjust ones do. He only defers them until a Day when the sights stare." (14:42).

3- Accordingly, God never forgets: "...Your Lord is never forgetful."" (19:64).

Secondly: the vast majority of people tend to forget and are unaware, because they are heedless of the Hereafter:

1- The vast majority of people tend to forget their deeds and God will remind them of all their deeds on the Last Day: "On the Day when God resurrects them all, and informs them of what they did. God has kept count of it, but they have forgotten it. God is Witness over everything." (58:6).

2- The vast majority of people tend to forget and disregard preaching and warning found in the Quranic verses; they are heedless of God's Word: "...But most people are heedless of Our Verses." (10:92).

3- Most people focus on the transient world on earth and rarely focus their attention on their real future and Eternal Life in the Hereafter; they rarely ask why they are created by God and why He created the heavens and the earth, or the universe with its stars and galaxies; they rarely ponder on the Hour and the Last Day and meeting with their Lord God: "...but most people do not know. They know an outer aspect of the worldly life, but they are heedless of the Hereafter. Do they not reflect within themselves? God did not create the heavens and the earth, and what is between them, except with reason, and for a specific duration. But most people, regarding meeting their Lord, are disbelievers." (30:6-8).

4- The Arab contemporaries of Muhammad were also heedless and unaware in the same manner: "To warn a people whose ancestors were not warned, and so they are unaware." (36:6).

Thirdly: before his ministry as a prophet, Muhammad was among the heedless:

1- Muhammad was a man among men in his society in Arabia: "Is it a wonder to the people that We inspired a man from among them..." (10:2); he was heedless and unaware like the rest of men in this Arabian society before he received the Quranic Revelation from God; once his ministry as a prophet began, he became a learned, knowledgeable, pious messenger of God: "We narrate to you the most accurate history, by revealing to you this Quran. Although, prior to it, you were of the unaware." (12:3).

2- The pious ones always seek refuge in their Lord God against the cursed, outcast Satan so as not to be controlled be heedlessness and unawareness; i.e., being oblivious regarding God and the Hereafter. The Lord God has commanded Muhammad to remember Him all the time so as not to be among the heedless: "And remember your Lord within yourself, humbly and fearfully, and quietly, in the morning and the evening, and do not be of the heedless." (7:205). If Muhammad would forget this command at some times, he should apply it by remembering His Lord more often: "...And remember your Lord if you forget..." (18:24).

Fourthly: the testimony of (There is no God but Allah) is the remedy against being unaware and heedless of the Hereafter:

1- God has inscribed into all human souls in Barsakh, before they are born on earth, the monotheism of (There is no God but Allah) and the human souls bear witness to this so as not to find any excuses on the Last Day by saying they were heedless of this: "And when Your Lord summoned the descendants of Adam, and made them testify about themselves. "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we testify." Thus you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, "We were unaware of this."" (7:172).

2- Thus, monotheism is the innate instinct inscribed into our souls; children are born with it; yet, as they grow up, they might learn from their surrounding environment the polytheism of worshiping things/items and mortals. The inner instinct of monotheism rise to the fore inside polytheists when they suffer an ordeal or undergo a fearful situation; they would remember God and scream for Him to grant them His aid. God sometimes inflict torment on some sinners within this transient world because of their sins; this test of ordeals/torment aims at reminding them of monotheism so that they may remember and repent and stop being oblivious/heedless; this is to alert them so that they would wake up and return to God: "We will make them taste the lesser torment, prior to the greater torment, so that they may return." (32:21).

3- To remember and to glorify God's Name is the most important means to attain piety and to get rid of the state of heedlessness and unawareness. One is also to remember God by performing accts of worship such as prayers, reading the Quran, and praising/glorifying God's Name in different times of the day; the pious ones remember God all the time when devilish whispers assail their souls: "...By the Quran of Remembrance." (38:1); "...and perform the prayer for My remembrance." (20:14); "And mention the Name of your Lord, morning and evening. And for part of the night, prostrate yourself to Him, and glorify Him long into the night." (76:25-26); "Those who are pious - when an impulse from Satan strikes them, they remind themselves, and immediately see clearly." (7:201).

4- This way, the pious believers will be among the winners who will prosper on the Last Day: "...And remember God much, so that you may prosper." (62:10).

Fifthly: Hell-torment is the fate of those unaware, heedless ones:

1- Without remembering God, the heedless human beings are among the unaware ones who will feel remorse on the Last Day, after it is too late for them since their fate is Hell-torment because they have been among the unjust ones who wronged their own souls: "And on that Day, Hell is brought forward. On that Day, man will remember, but how will remembrance avail him? He will say, "If only I had forwarded for my life." On that Day, none will be tormented as he is. And none will be shackled as he is." (89:23-26); "On that Day, the unjust ones will bite his hands, and say, "If only I had followed the way with the Messenger. Oh, woe to me; I wish I never took so-and-so for a friend. He led me away from the Message after it had come to me; for Satan has always been a betrayer of man."" (25:27-29).

2- On the Last Day, God will rebuke those who have been forgetful and heedless of His Verses; He will exclude them from His mercy and they will suffer Hell-torment forever.

2/1: There are those heedless ones who will be resurrected as blind before they will be made to enter into the Hell-torment forever: "He will say, "My Lord, why did You raise me blind, though I was seeing?" He will say, "Just as Our Verses came to you, and you forgot them, today you will be forgotten."" (20:125-126).

2/2: The angels of death will bring news of Hell and rebuke the heedless ones who have forgotten all about the Last Day, as God will exclude them from His mercy; this is the meaning of God's forgetting them: "And it will be said, "Today We forget you, as you forgot the encounter of this Day of yours. Your abode is the Fire, and there are no saviors for you." (45:34).

2/3: When the heedless, unaware ones enter into Hell, they will be reproached by being told that they have forgotten about this when they were alive on earth; they never heeded the warning and they deserve being forgotten by God; i.e., to be excluded/removed/expelled from His mercy: "So taste, because you forgot the meeting of this Day of yours; We have forgotten you; so taste the eternal torment for what you used to do." (32:14).

2/4: God says the following about the heedlessness and unawareness of the hypocrites who will be cursed and tormented in Hell: "The hypocrite men and hypocrite women are of one another. They advocate evil, and prohibit righteousness, and withhold their hands. They forgot God, so He forgot them. The hypocrites are the sinners. God has promised the hypocrite men and hypocrite women, and the disbelievers, the Fire of Hell, abiding therein forever. It is their due. And God has cursed them. They will have a lasting torment." (9:67-68).

2/5: God says the following about those who disbelieve in His Verses: "Those who took their religion lightly, and in jest, and whom the worldly life deceived. Today We will forget them, as they have forgotten the meeting on this Day of theirs, and they used to deny Our Verses." (7:51).

3- When you remember God within piety and fear, He will remember you and this means you will be among the prosperous winners on the Last Day: "So remember Me, and I will remember you..." (2:152); "...And remember God's bounties so that you may prosper."" (7:69).

4- God is Gentle, Kind, Clement, and Merciful towards human beings and this fact is repeated in the Quranic text; He has caused the Quran to descend to guide humanity: "It is He who sends down upon His servant clear revelations, to bring you out of darkness into the light. God is Gentle towards you, Most Compassionate." (57:9); "...God is Kind towards the people, Merciful." (2:143); "...God is Kind towards the servants." (2:207 + 3:30); "...our Lord is Clement and Merciful." (16:7); "...Your Lord is Gentle and Merciful." (16:47); "...God is Gentle towards the people, Merciful." (22:65); "...God is Clement and Merciful." (24:20).

5- God's mercy incudes the fact that the Quran repeatedly reminds, warns, and preach human beings to wake them up from their heedlessness and unawareness so that they are saved from the Hell-torment.

5/1: God reminds people of the fact that the Last Day draws near, but sadly, most people are heedless and unaware: "The Judgment of the humankind has drawn near, but they turn away heedlessly. No fresh reminder comes to them from their Lord, but they listen to it playfully. Their hearts are distracted..." (21:1-3).

5/2: God reminds people of the fact that most of them are disbelievers who will feel remorse, after it is too late, because of their being oblivious to the Hour: "The Promise of Truth has drawn near. The eyes of those who disbelieved will stare in horror: "Woe to us. We were oblivious to this. In fact, we were unjust ones."" (21:97).

5/3: The meaning of the above point is repeated here: "And warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded. Yet they are heedless, and they do not believe." (19:39).

5/4: The sinners and disobedient ones will be rebuked severely for their heedlessness: "The daze of death has come in truth: "This is what you tried to evade." And the Trumpet is blown: "This is the Promised Day." And every soul will come forward, accompanied by a driver and a witness. "You were in neglect of this, so We lifted your screen from you, and your vision today is keen."" (50:19-22). This means that they were busy with their carnal lusts and appetites until they died; upon Resurrection, their souls will carry their sins/burdens and they perceive face-to-face the Truth of which they have been heedless during their lifetimes on earth.

5/5: God reminds people of the fact that Satan and his devils distract the souls by making them heedless and unaware; thus, human beings in that case are like animals or cattle who are preoccupied with their present moment and never think of the real future or their Eternal Life in the Hereafter; they will experience Hell-torment for eternity because of this heedlessness and unawareness: "We have destined for Hell multitudes of jinn and humans. They have hearts with which they do not understand. They have eyes with which they do not see. They have ears with which they do not hear. These are like cattle. In fact, they are further astray. These are the heedless." (7:179). 

5/6: God reminds people of the fact that those people whose hearts are filled with disbelief deserve God's wrath and that His torment will be inflicted on them if they died without repentance; their hearts are filled with the love/passion only for this transient world and they have been heedless of the Hereafter: "Whoever renounces faith in God after having believed - except for someone who is compelled, while his heart rests securely in faith - but whoever willingly opens up his heart to disbelief - upon them falls wrath from God, and for them is a tremendous torment. That is because they have preferred the worldly life to the Hereafter, and because God does not guide the people who disbelieve. It is they whom God has sealed their hearts, and their hearing, and their sight. It is they who are the heedless. There is no doubt that in the Hereafter they will be the losers." (16:106-109). 

5/7: God reminds people of the fact that those who forget about meeting with God, or hate this meeting with Him on the Last Day, disbelieve in the Last Day and the Hereafter and this makes them oblivious to God's Verses and they will enter into Hell: "Those who do not hope to meet Us, and are content with the worldly life, and are at ease in it, and those who pay no heed to Our Verses. These - their dwelling is the Fire-on account of what they used to do." (10:7-8).

5/8: Those who prefer this transient world to the Eternal Life might perform good deeds and acts of charity as they spend/donate while seeking fame and stature and never seek to please their Lord God, because they never believe in the Hereafter; they are heedless of Paradise. Those people will be repaid for their good deeds in this world only, as their fate is Hell-torment: "Whoever desires the worldly life and its glitter-We will fully recompense them for their deeds therein, and therein they will not be defrauded. These - they will have nothing but the Fire in the Hereafter. Their deeds are in vain therein, and their works are null." (11:15-16).

Lastly:

1- One's monotheistic belief is never enough in itself; it has to be coupled with piety resulting in the performance good deeds and checking oneself before the Day of Judgment; this is the demeanor and stance of real monotheistic believers. If believers would not do that, they will be among those who forgot their souls and God has made them remain in this state of heedlessness and unawareness until they will regret it on the Last Day, after it will be too late for them: "O you who believe! Fear God, and let every soul consider what it has forwarded for tomorrow, and fear God. God is Aware of what you do. And do not be like those who forgot God, so He made them forget themselves. These are the sinners. Not equal are the inhabitants of the Fire and the inhabitants of Paradise. It is the inhabitants of Paradise who are the winners." (59:18-20). The aware, pious, monotheistic believers who perform good deeds are the allies/partisans God on the Last Day who will be made to enter into Paradise.    

2- The allies/partisans of the outcast, expelled cursed Satan are fully controlled by Satan and devils and they forget about the Remembrance of the Lord God: "Satan has taken hold of them, and so has caused them to forget the Remembrance of God. These are the partisans of Satan. Indeed, it is Satan's partisans who are the losers." (58:19).