How is Thoughtlessness Defined In The Qur'an?
As we have been explaining since the beginning of this book, wisdom is earned by a person abiding entirely by his conscience, choosing to live his life in a way that pleases Allah and is in accordance with the Qur'an, and as a result reaching perfection of thought and conduct. Also, it is comprehending the reason for his being and Allah's infinite power.
People who are not aware of these things are thoughtless. Most people never imagine that the personalities they see on television, their neighbours, university graduates, or successful businessmen can be thoughtless. However, being thoughtless means leading a life of ignorance, and because of this leading a miserable and difficult life, when they can live a life by the teachings of the Qur'an, which guides people to the best way of living both in this world and the Hereafter. So it is possible for a person to meet many thoughtless people around him.
In the Qur'an, Allah draws attention to the mistake people make with regard to worldly life and ignorance, and calls upon them to reflect on this and learn from it:
The life of the world is nothing but a game and a diversion. The Hereafter is better for those who guard against evil. So will you not use your reason? (Surat al-An'am: 32)
Anything you have been given is only the enjoyment of the life of this world and its finery. What is with Allah's reward is better and longer lasting. So will you not use your reason? (Surat al-Qasas: 60)
We have sent down to you a Book containing your admonishment. So will you not use your reason? (Surat al-Anbiya': 10)
… Have they not travelled in the land and seen the final fate of those before them? The abode of the Hereafter is better for those who guard against evil. So will you not use your reason? (Surah Yusuf: 109)
Even after the reminders in the Qur'an, such individuals as do not wish to comprehend the reality of this world and the Hereafter are those who do not use their reason, as the Qur'an mentions. Allah tells us of how these people figure in His eyes:
The worst of beasts in Allah's sight are the deaf and dumb who do not use their reason. (Surat al-Anfal: 22)
What is of true importance is that such people do not have the ability to differentiate between wisdom and thoughtlessness; they cannot see the situation they are in. So they think that wise people are thoughtless, and thoughtless people like themselves are wise. Because they do not fear Allah or concede the slightest possibility of having to account for the things they have done in this world, they assume that the path they are following is the right one. The Qur'an gives an example of their false mentality:
When they are told, "Believe in the way that others believe", they say, "What! Are we to believe in the way that fools believe?" No indeed! They are the fools, but they do not know it. (Surat al-Baqara: 13)
As clarified in the above verse, a thoughtless person thinking he is wise and not admitting any possibility of being in the wrong is the result of being thoughtless. Such people as do not possess any real perception are defined as blind and deaf in the Qur'an, even though they have no physical deficiencies. It is because these people cannot properly comprehend reality in general, nor can they grasp the realities they see and hear. For example, they cannot see Allah's greatness by looking at the perfect creation in the universe. Even if they do see it, they pretend not to have seen it, as they are thoughtless and do not listen to the voice of their conscience. Or they do not hear those who call them to the right path and explain to them the teachings of the Qur'an. Actually, they do hear them physically, but they go on living their lives heedlessly as if they had never listened to them. The situation they are in is explained in the Qur'an as:
Among them there are some who listen to you. But can you make the deaf hear incapable as they are of understanding? Among them there are some who look at you. But can you guide the blind, bereft as they are of sight? Allah does not wrong people in any way; rather it is people who wrong themselves. On the day We gather them together—when it will seem as if they had tarried no more than an hour of a single day—they will recognize one another. Those who denied the meeting with Allah and did not follow the right path will be lost. (Surah Yunus: 42-45)
As can be understood from all these explanations in the Qur'an, by detaching people from their humanness, a lack of wisdom makes people unable to comprehend and see and hear realities. This is explained in other verses:
We created many of the jinn and mankind for Hell. They have hearts they do not understand with. They have eyes they do not see with. They have ears they do not hear with. Such people are like cattle. No, they are even further astray! They are the unaware. (Surat al-A'raf: 179)
The unbelievers are like beasts, which, call out to them as one may cannot hear anything but a cry and a call. Deaf, dumb and blind, they understand nothing. (Surat al-Baqara: 171)
The reason why in the following pages we will be mentioning things that fog the mind is to warn people against the dangers of a lack of understanding. Because one who fails to rid himself of wrongful things that block his mind will experience great losses in this world and the Hereafter. Allah points out that those who lack understanding will remember their worldly life in the Hereafter with regret and say:
If only we had really listened and understood, we would not now have been the heirs of Hell. (Surat al-Mulk: 10)
