But there is a difference between the progress which creates...

But there is a difference between the progress which creates a sense of responsibility and the progress which, as we shall explain, does not have this characteristic. When humanity makes progress while fully conscious of its ideals, it is said that worship has been performed. It is a characteristic of worship that all along it is analogous to the world and in complete harmony with world conditions.

Yet even an unconscious advance in relation to an ideal is a movement towards Allah, though as we pointed out, irresponsible. Hence every advance is a movement towards Allah, even the advance of those who go after a mirage. As it is inferred from the above quoted verse, those who tend to proceed social mirages and choose inferior ideal for themselves, when reach these mirages, they notice that there is nothing there and find in place thereof Allah who pays them their due.

It is evident from this verse that, Allah is the end of their journey, yet He is not a geographical and like the end of a geographical route. For example, if we take into consideration the route between Tehran and Isfahan, Isfahan is the terminal point, that is the end of this geographical route. In other words, Isfahan is situated at the end of the route, not in between.

If a person travels towards Isfahan and stops somewhere on his way, he cannot be called to have reached Isfahan, which is the terminal point and which we call the end of the route. Anyhow Allah is not a geographical end in this way. Allah is Absolute. He is Self-existent. There is no place where Allah is not present. His existence has no limit. He is the end of the journey, but He is all along the way also.

The person who traverses only the half way - he who reaches a mirage, stops at it and discovers that it is only a mirage - what does he find? We observe that according to the Qur'anic verse, he finds that Allah is there and that Allah pays him his due, for the Absolute is present at every point on route also. As man advances on his way, he realizes his ideal in proportion to his progress. He finds Allah as much as he advances along his way. As Allah is Absolute, the way to Him also has no end.

Therefore a journey to Him means only to come near to Him. The more man advances, the nearer to Allah he comes, but this nearness is always relative. Man only can take some steps along the line of march, but he cannot traverse the whole route, for a limited being can never reach the Absolute.