Surely those who do not hope in Our meeting and are pleased...

Surely those who do not hope in Our meeting and are pleased with this world’s life and are content with it, and those who are heedless of our communication; (as for) those, their abode is the fire because of what they earned.” [^17] Elsewhere in the Quran, we read: “…and most surely the majority of the people are heedless to Our communications.” [^18] Imam Sadiq (AS) has been reported as saying: “If Satan is enemy, then what is heedlessness for?

And if death is true, them what is rejoicing for?”[^19] It is related that Jesus (AS) passed by a village whose people had been destroyed by God’s wrath. The disciples asked Jesus (a.s.) to bring one of the destroyed people to life to ask him why they had been destroyed.

When Jesus (AS) brought one of them back to life and asked him the reason, the resurrected man said: “Submission to tyrants, the love of the worldly pleasures, lack of fear (of Allah), unlimited wishes, heedlessness and engagement in idle fun and amusement.”[^20] Sheikh Baha’ee has set an example of man’s heedlessness.

He has written: “The likeness of an arrogant and heedless man is the likeness of a man who hangs himself in a well, and there is a dragon at the bottom of the well, waiting for him to fall down, with its mouth open to devour him, and there are two black and white locusts, chewing at the rope with which the man is hanging.

The man, who sees a little honey intermingled with the soil at the wall of the well with bees attacking it, tries to have a share from the honey without taking heed of what is above or beneath.” Sheikh Baha’ee further says: “The well is the world, the rope is life, the two white and black locusts are the day and the night, the honey intermingled with soil is the worldly pleasures which are intermingled with sufferings and sorrows, and the bees are the people of the world who harm the man.” Sheikh Baha’ee then has the following supplication: “We pray God for vision and guidance and seek refuge with Him from heedlessness and going astray.” ^21 The Messenger of Allah (SAW) has been reported as saying: “The most heedless and unmindful people are those who do not take lesson from the changes of the world.” ^22 It has been narrated that the message of a cock’s crow is: “O you the heedless one!