Not to neglect to remember Allah

Do not be like those who forgot Allah so He made them forget themselves. Such people are the deviators." (Surat al-Hashr; 19)

Negligence in remembering Allah distances one from Him. People who do not live by the Qur'an fail to remember Allah for extended periods of time, and so commit sins of every sort. For them, ignoring the commandments of the Qur'an becomes a way of life.

Believers, however, should remember Allah at every moment of their lives, in their words, deeds and thoughts. Failure to remember Allah out of carelessness leads even people of faith to commit sins and mistakes, either deliberately or inadvertently. In the absence of Allah's remembrance, a person may have problems in understanding the events around him and practicing sound judgment. He may be devoid of the consciousness that will let him observe Allah's limits in his speech and conduct.

Such heedlessness is the major basis underlying all sorts of attitudes that deviate from the morals of the Qur'an. One who loses his sensitivity toward the commands of Allah in the Qur'an may commit such unbecoming errors that once he is made aware of them, even he himself is amazed. Such mistakes should remind him of the importance of keeping one's mind occupied with remembering Allah. The frequency and gravity of anyone's sins and errors is in direct proportion to one's heedlessness. Continued negligence in remembering Allah seriously threatens one's faith.

On the other hand, keeping the mind occupied with the remembrance of Allah and reflecting upon the verses in the Qur'an provides one with consciousness and wisdom and makes one meticulous in complying with Allah's commands and prohibitions. A person who remembers Allah continually is more aware of his own weaknesses and realizes that he has no power except through Allah. Subsequently, he constantly prays to Allah, asks for His help, depends upon Him and submits himself to Him alone. Never does he consider himself independent of Allah, and thus he never becomes arrogant. His behavior, attitudes and words come under Allah's protection; Allah inspires him with how to conduct himself at every moment. He grants him "a light by which to walk" (Surat al-Hadid; 28) and helps him attain moral perfection.

In contrast, failure in remembering Allah leaves a man alone and helpless, diminishing his ability to reason and judge. He will fail at his tasks, since no one can manage without Allah's help. He cannot cope with any problem by his own will and power. Moreover, without Allah's help, he can never attain the kind of faith praised in the Qur'an, because he has committed the gravest mistake in failing to remember Allah.

Remembering Allah is a vital act of worship for any believer at any moment throughout one's daily life, and in this way he keeps his spiritual bond with Allah intact. His conscience never permits him to do the opposite, and he never regards such behavior as compatible with his deep love for and devotion to Allah.

In the Qur'an, Allah says to the Prophet Moses (as):

[He said,] 'Go, you and your brother, with My Signs and do not slacken in remembering Me.' (Surah Ta-Ha; 42)

When commissioning them to invite Pharaoh to the true path, Allah tells Moses (as) and his brother Aaron (as) not to be negligent in remembering Him, because it is He alone who will grant them success against Pharaoh.

And neglecting to remember Allah is a characteristic peculiar to hypocrites:

The hypocrites think they deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them. When they get up to pray, they get up lazily, showing off to people, and only remembering Allah a very little. (Surat an-Nisa'; 142)

Allah also reveals remembering Him is an important act of worship of believers in the following verses: