Action upon one verse:
This is very short verse of the Holy Qur’an. It is a wonderful miracle of the Holy Qur’an that if a man acts even upon a short verse after understanding its meaning, then that action is enough to ameliorate his life. This short verse also possesses this distinction. This verse discloses a wonderful reality and it contains guidance for the entire Muslim Ummah. If we take this guidance to our hearts and resolve to act upon it, then I can say that this shall put an end to all our troubles and calamities.

Cause of the sad plight of the Muslims
Before giving the meaning and explanation fo this verse, I draw your attention to an important question which occurs to many of us off and on. You are beholding that the entire Muslim Ummah is facing many problems, wherever it is residing in the world. It is surrounded by worries and calamities.

In one place the Muslims of Bosnia are being subjected to oppression and wrongs, in another place the Muslims of Kashmir are undergoing torture and tyranny. The Muslims in India are suffering from untold excesses infidels. In Somalia the Muslims are involved in a civil war. In Afghanistan the Muslim are fighting against each other. The Muslims are facing all these problems. Those who have some Eeman (Faith) in their hearts say after giving some though that the cause of these failures and disgraces lie in the fact that we have become totally unmindful of Deen, have given up acting on the teaching of the Holy Prophet ( saws ) and have forsaken service to Allah, have stopped from obeying the injunctions of the Holy Prophet ( saws ) and are, above all drowned deed in the disobedience and misdeeds. These vices have brought on us these calamities. What has been said above is quite true because Allah has said in the Holy Qur’an:

Whatever misfortunes strike you are due to your own (bad) deeds and (Allah) excuses many (of the sins) (42:30)

Thus, you yourselves are responsible for your misfortunes and distresses. Being All-Compassionate, Allah forgives many of your sins. Some misdeeds and sins are such as they are requited in this world in the form of misfortunes and calamities. There is hardly a sitting or assembly in which we do not admit lapses and misdeeds on our part. We confess in these our meetings that our calamities are due to our own negligence towards our Deen.

Why do the efforts remain fruitless?
Despite all the attempts made to arrest the deterioration and bring improvement in our conduct and behaviour, we see no improvement at all in our sad plight. It seems that the flood of our indifference to our Deen is increasing and intensifying instead of diminishing, as some poet has said:

What kind of a destination is it that we get tired in our journey towards it., but the distance remains the same as it was at the start?

You begin the work of reform on others
The verse I have recited just now points out the tendency that when you embark upon a reform campaign, you begin the work of reform on others, thinking that all defects, shortcomings and excesses through bribery, interest, etc. are found in others who need to be purified from these sins. On the other hand you totally forget your own self that perhaps some of these vices and misdeeds are lurking in your own souls.

You have no thought of reforming your ownselves
This idea seldom occurs to a person that he too, is addicted to some of those defects, weaknesses and vices which he is trying to look for in others and that it is his first priority to reform his own soul, It is incumbent upon a man first of all to care about his own reform and betterment before taking care of others. This has become a general trend that those who stand up for doing reform work arc worried about the amelioration of others. They seldom think that they themselves may be suffering from some vices and shortcomings which need to be eradicated first.

The sermons delivered remain ineffective
When a Preacher or a Reformer is suffering from some shortcomings and has no worry to remedy them, then the words of advice which he directs to others have no effect on the addresses. His words of advice will have weight only when he sincerely admits that he himself has in him so many vices, defects and sins. If he thinks about himself in this way he will not be mindful of, and worried about, the weaknesses and shortcomings of others. In the absence such a negative attitude, the sermons delivered, however attractive, prove ineffective and fall flat.

Everyone is accountable for his own deeds
The Holy Qur'an has said in the verse quoted above: O believers be mindful of your reform. If you have reformed yourself and taken the path of right guidance, the sins and vices of those who have gone astray from the straight path will do you no harm. You have all to return ultimately to Allah and Allah shall tell you what you have been doing in the world. This verse tells in clear terms that every one will be accountable for his deeds. The deeds of one person shall not be charged against another person. No. this will not happen. Everyone will have to account for his own deeds. It is, therefore, necessary that you should first of all take care of. and reform your own deeds and conduct. When you are in the presence of Allah what explanation shall you give for your deeds and conduct ? You should, therefore., be mindful of your own self before turning your attention to what others are doing. Everyone must make a critical survey of his own actions, conduct and character, to find out what sins and wrongs he himself is committing. If he has any, he should give up these sins and misdeeds and try to reform himself. It should not happen that he should become engaged in reforming others and be neglectful of his own reform.

There is a Hadith in which the Holy Prophet (Saws) has said: He, who says that all the people have perished, is himself the most perished one of all. This is because he has an eye on the sins and vices of others who have in his opinion perished on account of their sins. etc. but the man who so thinks does not look into his own sins and vices. If a man begins to make a survey of his own faults and shortcomings, he will feel that he is the worst of all and he will, therefore, not pry into the affairs of others.

An incident that happened with Hazrat Zunnoon Misri rahmatullah alayh)
Hazrat Zunnoon Misri (rah) was a friend of Allah (saint) of a very high status the height of which we can hardly imagine. It is written that once famine occurred in his city and there were no rains. The people were very much oppressed and perturbed and-were praying to Allah to release the rains. Some people approached Hazrat Zunnoon Misri (rah) and informed him how the cessation of the rains had caused severe famine, neither men nor animals had water to quench their thirst or to water their fields. Therefore, they requested the saint to pray to Almighty Allah to send down the rains. He promised to pray to Allah, but told them that whatever misfortunes and calamities descend on men are due to their own misdeeds and sins. The cessation of the rains means that they were all engrossed in evils and misdeeds on account of which Allah had withheld the rains. It was therefore, necessary to find out the greatest sinner among them. After taking a stock of his own personal life, the great saint thought that he was the greatest sinner of the place and his stay there was the real cause of the cessation of the rains. In order to attract divine mercy in the form of the rains, the saint decided to leave that place. Thus did the saint plan to bring down the rains.

The saint had his eyes on his sins
Look here! A great Wali. a righteous servant of Allah and an accomplished spiritual servant thinking that he was the greatest sinner on the surface of the earth and if he left the place, the rains would descend by Allah's mercy. Now think! Was the saint lying or did he display this humbleness out of modesty? A Wali like Hazrat Zunnoon Misri could never tell a lie. The fact is that he really and truly thought that he was the worst sinner. Why did he think so? It was because he had his eyes always fixed on his own defects and shortcomings and thought of ways and means to get rid of them.

None remained bad in his eyes
During this age Almighty Allah has made Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (rah) a model of action and righteousness. One of his successors has related the following incident:
Once I said to him: When you are delivering a sermon and I am in your assembly. I feel that in that assembly there is none more wretched than I: I am the worst sinner; in comparison with others I feel that I am like an animal.

In reply Hazrat Maulana Thanawi (RAH) said: Really I also feel about myself the same as you have described about yourself. When I deliver a sermon I feel that I am the worst of all and the others are better than I.

Why was it so? It was so, because they were always anxious to discover their own shortcomings and sins and how they should get rid of them. How should man attain Allah's pleasure? If man begins to look for his own sins, he cannot care for the shortcomings of others. In such a situation man begins lo feel worried about reforming his own affairs instead of worrying about others.