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�TO BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND�

The writer of the �Rise and Decline of the Roman Empire� while writing on the causes of the downfall of the Roman Empire has pointed out that corruption and deterioration of character ethics in the government functionaries of the empire, proved the last nail in the coffin of the great Roman Empire. Similarly history has witnessed the rise of nations to the heights of glory owing to the individuals� untiring diligence, invulnerable integrity and lofty vision. These traits have always trickled from the top leadership down to the lowest stratum of society. The annals of history have also recorded the causes of the downfall of nations being sluggishness, dishonesty and lack of direction in the national life. The lofty vision and principle centered life style of the early Muslims made it possible for them to touch the apex of glory and to become masters of the major portions of the globe for centuries but when they started throwing those universal principles to the wind and when their selfish motives replaced their altruistic objectives their upsurge halted and they fell into the abysmal depth of deterioration.

The Greeks believed in the dictum �Character is destiny� but for us the Muslims, this maxim is part of our faith that we are accountable for all our actions in the hereafter and what ever we do we shall gain its result in this world and also in the hereafter. �And for man is, whatever he strives for� �Al Quran� therefore we shall reap flowers if we sow flowers but we cannot reap flowers by sowing thorns. Stephen R. Covey the author of the �Seven Habits of the highly effective people� says that men have been endowed with the faculties of reason, conscience and imagination and on the basis of these they have been assigned the responsibilities �the abilities to response to varied stimuli, this makes men distinct from all other creatures. Therefore, he says that man is free to choose all his actions but he is not free to choose the consequences of his actions. On this premises Stephen R, Covey puts before us the second habit of highly effective people which he has phrased �to begin with the end in mind�. According to the said author we should always visualize the end or consequences of our actions before doing those actions because if we pick up one end of the stick we shall pick up another end of the stick and if we sow wind we shall certainly reap whirlwinds. This wise advice is explicit in the very philosophy of accountability in the hereafter which is the recurring subject of the holy Quran. �And the hereafter is replete with good rewards and it is everlasting�. �Al Quran�.

But today when we look into ourselves as a nation and as individuals we see that short- sightedness, selfish behavior, corruption of all kinds and hankering after momentary pleasures have eaten into the vitals of our society. This worldliness has gained the place of otherworldliness and we, as individuals and as a nation, care a fig for the accountability before Almighty Allah which is the basic principle in our belief system. Therefore the Quranic view of the pre-Islamic period, �Chaos and riots had pervaded both the earth and the waters� has become true to our present situation. According to transparency international we are one of the corrupt nations of the world. Favoritism, nepotism, Sefarish, bribery, embezzlement of the government exchequer rule the day in our society which instead of being eradicated by a fair and just system are strengthened by government ordinances. The almighty dollar is worshipped by the so called followers of Muhammad (PBUH). In the sixty years of our history our country saw more than thirty years of dictatorship and today our beloved country is caught in the mire of terrorism, extremism and civil anarchy and time is out of joint in the state of Pakistan owing to the myopic attitude of our leaders and the military junta who are at the helms of affairs. It is therefore time to ponder and reflect over the causes of this sorry state of affairs and to have an inside out approach by accepting that, the fault is ours it is not in our stars. Only then we shall come to the conclusion that we do not keep the end in mind while doing any kind of action and we forget that when we pick up one end of the stick we will pick up another end of the stick. In brief we should keep in mind out brief sojourn on this planet and realize the responsibility which is the remedy of this national malaise. Thus by shifting the
paradigms of every individual we can be true to our belief in the hereafter and show through our actions that we are accountable and answerable to the creator of the universe on that great day of judgment when neither intercession nor bribery will benefit us save our good deeds. And certainly this life in the hereafter is an everlasting life.

Saeed-ul-Abrar
Mughlandeh Chitral