[GJM] Future of Petro-modern systems

[marguerite hampton]

Dear Dr. Alam,
 
You keep telling me that I am not doing this and I am not doing that
according to the Quran. The point of my book is based on the in depth
physiobiological workings of all of life with an emphasis on human life..
While the book may go into how cultural consciousness emerges so
that we may see how the artificial boundaries of race and religion
arose, it is not culturally-biased -- it is scientifically based in both
quantum and conventional physics.  Physics is unlimited -- there are
no judgment boundaries in this science -- it is representative of the
Oneness from which all life emerges and therefore cannot be prejudicial.
 
While I am not a friend of particalization/specialization, in some instances
in order to examine a segment of the whole, one must consider natural
dividing lines just as a cellular biologist studies the manner in which a
cell functions and draws the line of study at the exterior of the cell
membrane.   And while there are no real beginnings or endings, there 
is a differentiation point between what is culture and what is the 
physiobiology of human life.

In order to manage the content of this book effectively, I am therefore
drawing a line between cultural and scientific worlds. This does not mean 
that when this book is closed that that is the end.  We may choose to go 
onto another segment for as I have said there are no beginnings and no 
endings.  This is but a place to start.

The above is also why I am seriously considering publishing the book
electronically on the Internet so that it is a "living document" in which
new
information may be incorporated as it becomes available.  One of the 
disadvantages to the books of the present and the "tablets or scrolls" of
the past is that once they were accomplished there was no viable way to
update them -- consequently they became the "word" of whichever God
chose to designate them as such, and served to confine the human mind
within the confines of the language and knowledge of a particular time.  
I feel you have to agree with me that the Internet provides a way to keep
information "free-flowing" and thus non-dogmatic -- adding to the vitality
of life.  

What we know today is that 75% of all information available has 
been discovered in the past 25 years.  And information is now doubling 
every 1.5 years.  How to keep up with this knowledge and apply it 
effectively is the question of the day.  
 
I recognize that you are extremely well read and for that reason you are
able to see the "whole big picture" and like myself many times are unable 
to focus on any particular point  However, it seems necessary to do this 
now.  So, could we come to an agreement that we are going to focus on 
human biology as a point from which consciousness emerges as a place 
to start? We will examine human consciousness through the fields of 
multi-dimensional science which have opened up to us through new 
insights many of which have been made available by new technologies 
made available by NASA and other companies researching and 
applying in-form-ation in new ways. 
 
Robert, thank you for finding the book  by.Maurice Bucaulle on Quran, Bible
and Science.  I have examined the book online, and have also read the parts
excerpted by Dr. Alam.  What I find is that the book provides a fundamental
overview but it does not go into the quantum dimensions, nor does it explore
the universe from a holographic point of view that the "new
multi-dimensional
sciences" are able to reveal.
 
However, it may provide for a good "point-of-reference" at times in that
we could take the part about water, for instance, and expand upon it to show

that the human body is 75% water and that water is one of the essential 
elements of human consciousness in that combined with other elements in 
the body it acts as the main carrier information between both exterior and 
interior mind-fields.  We can then begin to learn the role it plays in
making up 
the bioelectromagnet energy of the human body and follow the path of
communication between cells of the body and the outside world.  There are
so many dimensions of water to explore.  

We can also examine in depth the hydrological sphere of water as it falls on

the earth and is then evaporated after completing its mission in supporting 
the life of both flora and fauna so that it is returned toe desertosphere
once 
again to begin its cycle.  

Robert and Dr. Alam, the two of you are like "Elves" and I very much 
appreciate your assistance in helping me to write this book.  You make my
job
so much easier.  

BTW, it is my intuitive feeling that the future of a healthy earth lies not
in "petro-
technolgy" but in clean Zero Point Energy technology.  But in order to
accomplish
this, as World Citizens we must advance into another level of consciousness.


In appreciation,

marguerite 

We will go into the future as a single sacred society or we will perish in
the
desert.  Thomas Berry 

Dr. Alam wrote:  

Dear Marguerite ,
 
  Here is a section from the book that tells us a lot about the word of
Allah/God/Elahom...
 
  The Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms
  Numerous verses describing the origins of life have been assembled in this
chapter, along with certain aspects of the vegetable kingdom and general or
specific topics relating to the animal kingdom. The grouping of verses
scattered throughout the Book affords a general view of the data the Qur'an
contains on these subjects.
  In the case of the subject of this and the following chapter, the
examination of the Qur'anic text has sometimes been particularly delicate on
account of certain difficulties inherent in the vocabulary. These have only
been overcome through the fact that scientific data which have a bearing on
the subject have been taken into consideration. It is particularly so in the
case of living beings, i.e. animal, vegetable and human, where a
confrontation with the teachings of science is shown to be indispensable in
the search for the meaning of certain statements on these topics contained
in the Qur'an.
  It will become clear that numerous translations of these passages in the
Qur'an, made by men of letters, must be deemed inaccurate by the scientist.
The same holds true for commentaries made by those who do not possess the
scientific knowledge necessary for an understanding of the text.
 
            A. THE ORIGINS OF LIFE  This question has always preoccupied man
 both for himself and for the living things around him. It will be examined
here from a general point of view. The case of man, whose appearance on
Earth and reproduction processes are the subject of lengthy expos?I will be
dealt with in the next chapter.
  When the Qur'an describes the origins of life on a very broad basis, it is
extremely concise. It does so in a verse that also mentions the process of
the formation of the Universe, already quoted and commented on:
  --sura 21, verse 30:
  "Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined
together, then We clove them asunder and We got every living thing out of
the water. Will they then not believe?"
  The notion of 'getting something out of something' does not give rise to
any doubts. The phrase can equally mean that every living thing was made of
water (as its essential component) or that every living thing originated in
water. The two possible meanings are strictly in accordance with scientific
data. Life is in fact of aquatic origin and water is the major component of
all living cells. Without water, life is not possible. When the possibility
of life on another planet is discussed, the first question is always: does
it contain a sufficient quantity of water to support life?
  Modern data lead us to think that the oldest living being must have
belonged to the vegetable kingdom: algae have been found that date from the
pre-Cambrian period, i.e. the time of the oldest known lands. Organisms
belonging to the animal kingdom probably appeared slightly later. they too
came from the sea.
  What has been translated here by 'water' is the word ma' which means both
water in the sky and water in the sea, plus any kind of liquid. In the first
meaning, water is the element necessary to all vegetable life:
  --sura 20, verse 53.
"(God is the One Who) sent water down from the sky and thereby We brought
forth pairs of plants each separate from the other."
  This is the first reference to the notion of a pair in the vegetable
kingdom. We shall return to this later.
  In the second meaning, a liquid without any further indication of what
kind, the word is used in its indeterminate form to designate what is at the
basis of the formation of all animal life:
  -sura 24, verse 45:
"God created every animal from water."
  We shall see further on how this word may also be applied to seminal fluid
[ It is secreted by the reproductive glands and contains spermatozoons.].
  Whether it deals therefore with the origins of life in general, or the
element that gives birth to plants in the soil, or the seed of animals, all
the statements contained in the Qur'an on the origin of life are strictly in
accordance with modern scientific data. None of the myths on the origins of
life that abounded at the time the Qur'an appeared are mentioned in the text

 
          B. THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM  It is not possible to quote in their
entirety all the numerous passages in the Qur'an in which divine Beneficence
is referred to concerning the salutary effect of the rain which makes
vegetation grow. Here are just three verses on this subject:
  --sura 16, verses 10 and 11:
"(God) is the One Who sends water down from the sky. For you this is a drink
and out of it (grow) shrubs in which you let (cattle) graze freely.
Therewith for you He makes sown fields, olives, palm-trees, vineyards and
all kinds of fruit grow."
  --sura 6, verse 99:
"(God) is the One Who sent water down from the sky. Therewith We brought
forth plants of all kinds and from them the verdure and We brought forth
from it the clustered grains, and from the palm-tree its spathes with
bunches of dates (hanging) low, the gardens of grapes, olives and
pomegranates similar and different. Look at their fruit, when they bear it,
and their ripening. Verily, in that there are signs for people who believe."
  --sura 50, verses 9-11:
"We sent down from the sky blessed water whereby We caused to grow gardens,
grains for harvest, tall palm-trees with their spathes, piled one above the
other-sustenance for (Our) servants. Therewith We give (new) life to a dead
land. So will be the emergence (from the tombs)."
  The Qur'an adds to these general data others that refer to more
specialized subjects:
 
Balance in the Vegetable Kingdom  --sura 15, verse 19:
"The earth . . . We caused all kinds of things to grow therein in due
balance."
 
The Different Qualities of Various Foods  --sura 13, verse 4:
"On the earth are adjacent parts; vineyards, sown fields, palm-trees,
similar and not similar, watered with the same water. We make some of them
more excellent than others to eat and verily in this are signs for wise
people."
  It is interesting to note the existence of these verses because they show
the sober quality of the terms used, and the absence of any description that
might highlight the beliefs of the times, rather than fundamental truths.
What particularly attracts our attention however, are the statements in the
Qur'an concerning reproduction in the vegetable kingdom.
 
Reproduction in the Vegetable Kingdom  One must bear in mind that there are
two methods of reproduction in the vegetable kingdom: one sexual, the other
asexual. It is only the first which in fact deserves the term 'reproduction'
 because this defines a biological process whose purpose is the appearance
of a new individual identical to the one that gave it birth.
  Asexual reproduction is quite simply multiplication. It is the result of
the fragmentation of an organism which has separated from the main plant and
developed in such a way as to resemble the plant from which it came. It is
considered by Guilliermond and Mangenot to be a 'special case of growth'. A
very simple example of this is the cutting. a cutting taken from a plant is
placed in suitably watered soil and regenerated by the growth of new roots.
Some plants have organs specially designed for this, while others give off
spores that behave like seeds, as it were, (it should be remembered that
seeds are the results of a process of sexual reproduction).
  Sexual reproduction in the vegetable kingdom is carried out by the
coupling of the male and female parts of the generic formations united on a
same plant or located on separate plants.
  This is the only form that is mentioned in the Qur'an.
  -aura 20, verse 53:
"(God is the One Who) sent water down from the sky and thereby We brought
forth pairs of plants each separate from the other."
  'One of a pair' is the translation of zauj (plural azwaj) whose original
meaning is: 'that which, in the company of another, forms a pair'; the word
is used just as readily for a married couple as for a pair of shoes.
  --sura 22, verse 5:
"Thou seest the grounds lifeless. When We send down water thereon it shakes
and grows and puts forth every magnificent pair (of plants)."
  --sura 31, verse 10:
"We caused to grow (on the earth) every noble pair (of plants)."
  --sura 13, verse 3:
"Of all fruits (God) placed (on the earth) two of a pair."
  We know that fruit is the end-product of the reproduction process of
superior plants which have the most highly developed and complex
organization. The stage preceding fruit is the flower, which has male and
female organs (stamens and ovules). The latter, once pollen has been carried
to them, bear fruit which in turn matures and frees it seeds. All fruit
therefore implies the existence of male and female organs. This is the
meaning of the verse in the Qur'an.
  It must be noted that for certain species, fruit can come from
non-fertilized flowers (parthenocarpic fruit), e.g. bananas, certain types
of pineapple, fig, orange, and vine. They can nevertheless also come from
plants that have definite sexual characteristics.
  The culmination of the reproductive process comes with the germination of
the seed once its outside casing is opened (sometimes it is compacted into a
fruit-stone). This opening allows roots to emerge which draw from the soil
all that is necessary for the plant's slowed-down life as a seed while it
grows and produces a new plant.
  A verse in the Qur'an refers to this process of germination:
  --sura 6, verse 95:
"Verily, God splits the grain and the fruit-stone."
  The Qur'an often restates the existence of these components of a pair in
the vegetable kingdom and brings the notion of a couple into a more general
context, without set limits:
  --sura 36, Verse 36:
"Glory be to Him Who created the components of couples of every kind: of
what the ground caused to grow, of themselves (human beings) and of what you
do not know."
  One could form many hypotheses concerning the meaning of the 'things men
did not know' in Muhammad's day. Today we can distinguish structures or
coupled functions for them, going from the infinitesimally small to the
infinitely large, in the living as well as the non-living world. The point
is to remember these clearly expressed ideas and note, once again, that they
are in perfect agreement with modern science.
 
          C. THE ANIMAL KINGDOM  There are several questions in the Qur'an
concerning the animal kingdom which are the subject of comments that call
for a confrontation with modern scientific knowledge. Here again, however,
one would gain an incomplete view of all that the Qur'an contains on this
subject if one were to leave out a passage such as the extract which follows
 In this passage, the creation of certain elements in the animal kingdom is
described with the purpose of making man reflect upon the divine Beneficence
extended to him. It is quoted basically to provide an example of the way in
which the Qur'an describes the harmonious adaptation of Creation to man's
needs; it relates in particular the case of those people who live in a rural
setting, since there is nothing that could be examined from a different
point of view.
  -sura 16, verses 5 to 8:
"(God) created cattle for you and (you find) in them warmth, useful services
and food, sense of beauty when you bring them home and when you take them to
pasture. They bear your heavy loads to lands you could not reach except with
great personal effort. Verily, your Lord is Compassionate and Merciful; (He
created) horses, mules and donkeys for you to ride and for ornament. And He
created what you do not know."
  Alongside these general remarks, the Qur'an sets out certain data on
highly diversified subjects:
--reproduction in the animal kingdom.
--references to the existence of animal communities.
--statements concerning bees, spiders and birds.
--remarks on the source of constituents of animal milk.
 
1. Reproduction in the Animal Kingdom  This is very summarily dealt with in
verses 45 and 46, sura 53:
"(God) fashioned the two of a pair, the male and the female, from a small
quantity of liquid when it is poured out."
  The 'pair' is the same expression that we have already encountered in the
verses which deal with reproduction in the vegetable kingdom. Here, the
sexes are given. The detail which is absolutely remarkable is the precision
with which it is stated that a small quantity of liquid is required for
reproduction. The word itself signifying 'sperm' is used. The relevance of
this remark will be commented upon in the next chapter.
 
2. References to the Existence of Animal Communities  --sura 6, Verse 38:
"There is no animal on earth, no bird which flies on wings, that (does not
belong to) communities like you. We have not neglected anything in the Book
(of Decrees). Then to their Lord they will be gathered."
  There are several points in this verse which require comment. Firstly, it
would seem that there is a description of what happens to animals after
their death: Islam does not apparently, have any doctrine on this point.
Then there is predestination in general [ We saw in the Introduction to the
third part of this book what one was expected to believe about
predestination in its application to man himself.] which would seem to be
mentioned here. It could be conceived as absolute predestination or relative
 i.e. limited to structures and a functional organization that condition
modes of behaviour: the animal acts upon various exterior impulses in terms
of a particular conditioning.
  Blach?? states that an older commentator, such as Razi, thought that this
verse only referred to instinctive actions whereby animals worship God.
Sheik Si Boubakeur Hamza, in the commentary to his translation of the Koran,
speaks of "the instinct which, according to Divine Wisdom, pushes all beings
to group together, so that they demand that the work of each member serve
the whole group."
  Animal behaviour has been closely investigated in recent decades, with the
result that genuine animal communities have been shown to exist. Of course,
for a long time now the results of a group or community's work have been
examined and this has led to the acceptance of a community organization. It
has only been recently however, that the mechanisms which preside over this
kind of organization have been discovered for certain species. The most
studied and best known case is undoubtedly that of bees, to whose behaviour
the name von Frisch is linked. Von Frisch, Lorenz and Tinbergen received the
1973 Nobel Prize for their work in this field.
 
3. Statements Concerning Bees, Spiders and Birds  When specialists on the
nervous system wish to provide striking examples of the prodigious
organization directing animal behaviour, possibly the animals referred to
most frequently are bees, spiders and birds (especially migratory birds).
Whatever the case, there is no doubt that these three groups constitute a
model of highly evolved organization.
  The fact that the text of the Qur'an refers to this exemplary trio in the
animal kingdom is in absolute keeping with the exceptionally interesting
character that each of these animals has from a scientific point of view.
 
Bees  In the Qur'an, bees are the subject of the longest commentary:
  --Sura 16, verses 68 and 69: [ One might note in passing, that this last
verse is the only one in the Qur'an that refers to the possibility of a
remedy for man. Honey can indeed be useful for certain diseases. Nowhere
else in the Qur'an is a reference made to any remedial arts, contrary to
what may have been said about this subject.]
"Thy Lord inspired the bees: Choose your dwelling in the hills, in the trees
and in what (man) built. Eat of all fruit and follow the ways of your Lord
in humility. From within their bodies comes a liquor of different colours
where is a remedy for men."
  It is difficult to know what exactly is meant by the order to follow the
ways of the Lord in humility, unless it is to be seen in general terms. All
that may be said, with regard to the knowledge that has been gained of their
behaviour, is that here-as in each of the three animal eases mentioned as
examples in the Qur'an-there is a remarkable nervous organization supporting
their behaviour. It is known that the pattern of a bee's dance is a means of
communication to other bees; in this way, bees are able to convey to their
own species the direction and distance of flowers from which nectar is to be
gathered. The famous experiment performed by von Frisch has shown the
meaning of this insect's movement which is intented to transmit information
between worker bees.
 
Spiders  Spiders are mentioned in the Qur'an to stress the flimsiness of
their dwelling which is the most fragile of all. They have a refuge that is
as precarious, according to the Qur'an, as the dwelling of those who have
chosen masters other than God.
  --sura 29, verse 41:
"Those who choose masters other than God are like the spider when it takes
for itself a dwelling. Verily, the flimsiest dwelling is the dwelling of the
spider. If they but knew."
  A spider's web is indeed constituted of silken threads secreted by the
animal's glands and their calibre is infinitely fine. Its fragility cannot
be imitated by man. Naturalists are intrigued by the extraordinary pattern
of work recorded by the animal's nervous cells, which allows it to produce a
geometrically perfect web.
 
Birds  Birds are frequently mentioned in the Qur'an. They appear in episodes
in the life of Abraham, Joseph, David, Solomon and Jesus. These references
do not however have any bearing on the subject in hand.
  The verse concerning the existence of animal communities on the ground and
bird communities in the sky has been noted above:
  --sura 6 verse 38:
"There is no animal on the earth, no bird which flies on wings, that (does
not belong to) communities like you. We have not neglected anything in the
Book (of Decrees) . Then to their Lord they will be gathered."
  Two other verses highlight the birds' strict submission to God's Power.
  --sura 16, verse 79:
"Do they not look at the birds subjected in the atmosphere of the sky? None
can hold them up (in His Power) except God."
  --sura 67, verse 19:
  "Have they not looked at the birds above them spreading their wings out
and folding them? None can hold them up (in his Power) except the Beneficent
" The translation of one single word in each of these verses is a very
delicate matter. The translation given here expresses the idea that God
holds the birds up in His Power. The Arabic verb in question is amsaka,
whose original meaning is 'to put one's hand on, seize, hold, hold someone
back'.
  An illuminating comparison can be made between these verses, which stress
the extremely close dependence of the birds' behavior on divine order, to
modern data showing the degree of perfection attained by certain species of
bird with regard to the programming of their movements. It is only the
existence of a migratory programme in the genetic code of birds that can
account for the extremely long and complicated journeys which very young
birds, without any prior experience and without any guide, are able to
accomplish. This is in addition to their ability to return to their
departure point on a prescribed date. Professor Hamburger in his book, Power
and Fragility (La Puissance et la Fragilit?F[ Pub. Flammarion, 1972, Paris.]
 gives as an example the well-known case of the 'mutton-bird' that lives in
the Pacific, with its journey of over 16,500 miles in the shape of the
figure 8 [ It makes this journey over a period of six months, and comes back
to its departure point with
  a maximum delay of one week.]. It must be acknowledged that the highly
complicated instructions for a journey of this kind simply have to be
contained in the bird's nervous cells. They are most definitely programmed,
but who is the programmer?
 
4. The Source of the Constituents of Animal Milk  This is defined in the Qur
an in strict accordance with the data of modern knowledge (sura 16, verse
66). The translation and interpretation of this verse given here is my own
because even modern translations habitually give it a meaning which is, in
my opinion, hardly acceptable. Here are two examples:
  --R. Blach??'s translation: [ Pub. G. P. Maisonneuve et Larose, 1966,
Paris,]
"Verily, in your cattle there is a lesson for you! We give you a pure milk
to drink, excellent for its drinkers; (it comes) from what, in their bellies
 is between digested food and blood."
  --Professor Hamidullah's translation: [ Pub. Club Fran??s du Livre, 1971,
Paris.]
"Verily, there is food for thought in your cattle. From what is in their
bellies, among their excrement and blood, We make you drink pure milk, easy
for drinkers to imbibe."
  If these texts were shown to a physiologist, he would reply that they were
extremely obscure, the reason being that there hardly appears to be much
agreement between them and modern notions, even on a very elementary level.
These translations are the work of highly eminent Arabists. It is a well
known fact however, that a translator, even an expert, is liable to make
mistakes in the translation of scientific statements, unless he happens to
be a specialist in the discipline in question.
  The most valid translation seems to me to be the following:
"Verily, in cattle there is a lesson for you. We give you to drink of what
is inside their bodies, coming from a conjunction between the contents of
the intestine and the blood, a milk pure and pleasant for those who drink it
" (sura 16, verse 66)
  This interpretation is very close to the one given in the Muntakab, 1973,
edited by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Cairo, which relies for
its support on modern physiology.
  From the point of view of its vocabulary, the proposed translation may be
justified as follows:
  I have translated ?inside their bodies' and not, as R. Blach?? and
Professor Hamidullah have done, 'inside their bellies'. This is because the
word batn also means 'middle', ?interior of something', as well as 'belly'.
The word does not here have a meaning that is anatomically precise. 'Inside
their bodies' seems to concur perfectly with the context.
  The notion of a 'primary origin' of the constituents of milk is expressed
by the word min (in English 'from') and the idea of a conjunction by the
word baini. The latter not only signifies ?among' but also 'between' in the
other translations quoted. It is however also used to express the idea that
two things or two people are brought together.
  From a scientific point of view, physiological notions must be called upon
to grasp the meaning of this verse.
  The substances that ensure the general nutrition of the body come from
chemical transformations which occur along the length of the digestive tract
 These substances come from the contents of the intestine. On arrival in the
intestine at the appropriate stage of chemical transformation, they pass
through its wall and towards the systemic circulation. This passage is
effected in two ways: either directly, by what are called the 'lymphatic
vessels', or indirectly, by the portal circulation. This conducts them first
to the liver, where they undergo alterations, and from here they then emerge
to join the systemic circulation. In this way everything passes through the
bloodstream.
  The constituents of milk are secreted by the mammary glands. These are
nourished, as it were, by the product of food digestion brought to them via
the bloodstream. Blood therefore plays the role of collector and conductor
of what has been extracted from food, and it brings nutrition to the mammary
glands, the producers of milk, as it does to any other organ.
  Here the initial process which sets everything else in motion is the
bringing together of the contents of the intestine and blood at the level of
the intestinal wall itself. This very precise concept is the result of the
discoveries made in the chemistry and physiology of the digestive system. It
was totally unknown at the time of the Prophet Muhammad and has been
understood only in recent times. The discovery of the circulation of the
blood, was made by Harvey roughly ten centuries after the Qur'anic Rev
elation.
  I consider that the existence in the Qur'an of the verse referring to these concepts can have no human explanation on account of the period in which they were formulated.
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