The Silent Ghaflah No One Talks About.

Okay, hear me out.

While I’m working on a very exciting upcoming project (in shaa Allah), I came across a doctor on an Arabic podcast talking about emotional awareness.

One thing she said really stuck with me:
The reason many people suffer from anxiety, depression, and overthinking is because they aren’t aware of what’s actually happening around them — like they’re living in heedlessness.

And that sparked something in me I’ve never thought about quite like this before:

Ghaflah isn’t just dangerous for our Akhirah — it’s already ruining our present.

Let’s talk.

The Diseases of Modernity

Modern times come with a lot of diseases that have infiltrated the Muslim world.
Well — actually, they’ve infiltrated the whole world, but Muslims specifically… bear with me.

I’d argue that one of the biggest diseases we’re suffering from today is ghaflah.

But here’s the thing:
What is ghaflah exactly? And what’s the English equivalent of it?

Ghaflah is mentioned in the Qur’an in several places, in different contexts —
but it always captures the same essence:

This one is very interesting —
because it uses the Arabic word ghaflah,
but the verse is actually describing how Musa (alayhi as-salaam) walked into a city while its people were unaware of him:

There is a pattern.

Heedlessness is often mentioned alongside arrogance or wretchedness.
And in all cases — it leads to regret.

The tafsir for the first ayah in Surah Al-Anbiya explains that ghaflah not only means being unaware of what’s to come — but that this heedlessness prevents people from preparing for the Hereafter.

And that, ultimately, is what leads to regret. Now, how do we link this to modern ideologies when it comes to ghaflah?

It’s simple, really:

Liberalism

Liberalism teaches you that free will can be lived however you want — as long as you’re not hurting anyone else.
There are no other types of consequences.

And in reality?
As long as no one finds out — you get away with it.

You see this in the many crimes happening around the world.
They all have one thing in common:
No fear or awareness of Allah — which leads to gruesome acts.

Atheism

Atheism teaches you that no one is watching.
There is no higher being, and no afterlife.
So why should anyone care?

Atheism and liberalism go hand in hand very well:
If there’s no God to hold you accountable, no Hell you could literally rot in —
then why restrain yourself at all?

And so, they try to motivate people to be “good” through worldly incentives:
Tax breaks for donations, scholarships for good deeds, and a reputation boost for being a “good person.”

But let’s be honest —
No Afterlife. No Jannah. No Jahannam. → No real accountability.
Not for murderers. Not for war criminals. Not for those who ruin entire nations.

Just think: Palestine. Syria. Lebanon. Yemen. Iraq.
And so many others.

Feminism

To make matters worse, feminism teaches women that they need freedom from marriage and children — the two most basic foundations that have upheld society.

Women marched demanding equality with men,
measuring everything they did, wore, and said by male standards.
As if they weren’t already enough on their own.

What baffles me the most about feminism is the sheer ignorance of women who genuinely believe they can be “equal” to men.
Newsflash: You can’t.

Not only because of obvious biological differences,
but because Allah did not design gender roles to be lived out like this.

But then again —
Atheism says there is no God,
Liberalism says you can do whatever you want,
and as long as you’re “not hurting anyone,” who cares, right?

I think you get the point.

These -isms have hurt the world more than anyone can imagine.

Families fell apart.
Women became wretched.
And those who just wanted to live the traditional life Allah intended for them
were forced into labor to make ends meet.

Surprise:
The West never wanted your “freedom.”
The West never wanted your “liberation.”
It wanted your half of the taxes.

Congratulations.
You fell right into the trap.

And what baffles me even more
is that the very feminists who were once the loudest voices of the movement —
don’t even stand by their own words anymore.

In fact, Germaine Greer, one of feminism’s most prominent figures, once said:

“I mourn my unborn children”

I rest my case.

Awareness Beats Ghaflah

Awareness refers to the concept of being conscious, attentive, and having knowledge of what is happening around you.

From an Islamic perspective, the doctor referred to it as يَقَظَة (yaqaẓah) — spiritual wakefulness. In the Qur’an, Allah ﷻ frequently emphasizes the importance of being aware of the Hereafter by performing acts of worship and remembering Him often.

These are only 3 examples, but they show one thing clearly: being conscious that Allah exists and that He sees us. He is the One who will ultimately determine where we end up.

So, there’s no way for us to walk on this earth without consequences. And honestly? That would never be fair.

What the doctor also suggested is that the absence of awareness often leads to the development of mental illnesses — and that, at first, really caught me off guard.

Let me explain what she meant by awareness, using an example she shared:

Imagine you're sitting on your prayer mat. You've just finished your salah, and you’ve made the conscious decision to sit and make dhikr. Now, someone calls you to talk. If you decide to immediately get up and go to them — without finishing what you intended to do — that, she said, is a lack of awareness.

Because in that moment, you’ve actively handed over your focus — your inner awareness (Of course, we’re not talking about emergencies here.).

But this simple moment should open your eyes to how quickly we lose sight of our own decisions.

Anxiety, depression, and overthinking — they don’t just appear out of nowhere. These states often begin as unresolved emotions or suppressed feelings. That’s why we talk so much about trauma and trauma responses.

And this is why awareness is so incredibly important: it beats ghaflah.

It’s honestly astonishing to realise that Allah has spoken about this in the Qur’an — long before these psychological sciences were even established.

As I mentioned earlier, Allah constantly reminds us to remember Him and to be God-conscious — and this is the very essence of taqwa.

To conclude, let’s now dive into the 3 main habits that help us conquer the nafs and stop it from living in our ghaflah.

I feel like you already know what I’m going to mention here, don’t you?

Salah – Prayer
Prayer is the ultimate form of awareness. It begins even before you say Allahu Akbar — with wudu. While taking ablution, you wash your body parts step by step. You start with the intention in your heart, move on to the hands, then the mouth and nose… You are 100% aware of your situation, your decisions, and your inner state.

1. You intended to do wudu (you made that decision).

2. You start making wudu (you’re following through on the decision).

3. You know exactly how to do it (you’re taking every step intentionally, as the Sunnah taught you).

And it doesn’t stop there. Awareness continues before and during the prayer itself.
You stand before Allah: You made the intention to pray — that’s already an act of presence.

1. You say Allahu Akbar, acknowledging that nothing is greater than Him — that’s the peak of awareness.

2. Then you go through the movements, recitations, and actions of prayer, one by one, consciously, as the Prophet ﷺ taught us.

   This combines all three dimensions: intention, action, and attention.

You see where this is going? Let’s continue.

Qur’an
When you sit with the Mushaf, it doesn’t begin or end with reading. A whole routine surrounds a meaningful Qur’anic session — and that’s what makes it impactful.

1. In most cases, you’re in a state of wudu before even touching the Mushaf.

2. You sit at a designated time, not in a rush.

3. You begin reading with attention, because if you’re not aware of what you’re saying, you’re not truly taking it in.

Whether you’re reading or memorizing, you’re building the ultimate form of awareness:

You decide to engage with the Qur’an,
you act in accordance with that intention,
and you work on being present while reading.

Seriously, who needs meditation?

Dhikr
Speaking of meditation — do you know what the hardest part of it is?

Awareness.
Being present in the moment and not letting your mind wander.
Sound familiar?

That’s prayer.
That’s Qur’an.
That’s dhikr.

In every form of worship, you are training your nafs to stay where you want it to be — not where it wants to go.

And that’s exactly why this topic is so incredibly important.
Working on your nafs means you are in charge — not your desires.

And in order for you to be in charge, you need to be aware of your intentions, decisions, and actions.

If they don’t align, you will feel off. You’ll feel imbalanced.

Now, dhikr is technically an umbrella term that includes prayer and Qur’an, since both are forms of remembering Allah.
But what I want to highlight here are the daily adhkar — the ones we tend to overlook:

• Morning & evening adhkar

• The smaller, everyday adhkar like istighfar

What makes these two so genius is how they’re designed to make you aware of time.

1. The morning and evening adhkar force you to acknowledge your surroundings — you become conscious of the time of day. “It’s morning now.” “It’s evening now.” Your body prepares itself for what’s to come, and you feel in sync with the world around you. That’s internal balance.

2. The smaller adhkar — like saying astaghfirullah — help refocus you during the day. But even here, presence is required. Because if your heart isn’t present while making dhikr, then Allah may not accept it.

And Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله commented:

In summary

1. Ghaflah (heedlessness) is the root disease of modern times.
It doesn’t just harm our Akhirah — it ruins our mental and emotional well-being right now. Islam identifies ghaflah as spiritual unawareness, and modern ideologies (like liberalism, atheism, and feminism) feed into it by removing the concept of divine accountability.

2. Awareness (يَقَظَة – yaqazah) is the spiritual and emotional cure.
Being truly present — conscious of Allah, of your intentions, and your inner state — is essential to overcoming heedlessness. Without awareness, even good actions lose meaning and connection.

3. Lack of awareness leads to mental instability.
Anxieties, depression, and overthinking often stem from unprocessed emotions and disconnected decisions. The absence of spiritual and emotional awareness can open the door to long-term psychological harm.

4. Islam already gave us the solution: Salah, Qur’an, and Dhikr.
These three acts are not rituals for the sake of rituals — they are training grounds for awareness. They realign our mind, heart, and body with the reality of Allah’s presence and our purpose.

5. Conquering the nafs starts with conscious living.
You can’t rule your desires if you’re living on autopilot. Modern distractions push us into ghaflah, but Islam teaches us to fight back through mindfulness, intention, and presence.

Now that was a lot to take in - I know. Honestly I still have so many thoughts about this topic but I won’t bother you too much.

As I told you in the last letter this is the first step towards learning how to regulate our emotions. Everything starts with awareness.

I will leave you with this for now and I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Until then, Ill leave you

في امان الله _{(in the protection of Allah)}

❦ Dunja ❦