81-100: Questions and Answers

81- What does being "wise" mean?

Being "wise" means to talk and behave rationally, concisely and fittingly. A wise person has the insight, the ability to see the true aspects of events, and possesses profound understanding. For that reason all his decisions and actions are to the point. His words are striking and moving. Everything he says produces a profound effect on the hearts of others.

Wisdom is a virtue given by Allah to truly sincere people who in every instant turn towards Allah, who live and think according to the Qur'an. Allah has stated that wisdom is a great gift in the verse, "He gives wisdom to whoever He wills and he who has been given wisdom has been given great good…" (Surat al-Baqara, 269)

82- How is extravagance referred to in the Qur'an?

Allah has forbidden His servants to be extravagant, revealing what the criterion should be when spending:

Those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor mean, but take a stance mid way between the two. (Surat al-Furqan, 67)

Muslims spend everything they have in the way of Allah and in the way that would please Him most. They do not forget that what they have is what Allah has given them as a blessing and that they are not the real owners of any of it. When they have to make sacrifices they spend everything they have as commanded by the Qur'an; yet when expenditure is unnecessary they avoid spending even a single penny wastefully. Allah, in the Qur'an, has commanded believers to give their goods to those in need, but not to squander them:

Give your relatives their due, and the very poor and travellers but do not squander what you have. Squanderers are brothers to the satans, and satan was ungrateful to his Lord. (Surat al-Isra, 26-27)

On the other hand, avoiding extravagance should not be misunderstood to mean avoiding the gifts of Allah. He states in the Qur'an "… eat and drink but do not be profligate. He does not love the profligate." (Surat al-A'raf, 31) In this verse Allah has told believers to enjoy His gifts, and has forbidden them only to spend wastefully. Today, however, in societies remote from Islamic morals, extravagance is not paid the attention it is due. In restaurants and houses, plates of food and huge amounts of bread, fruits and vegetables are thoughtlessly thrown away. But Allah has forbidden extravagance, whether in significant or insignificant amounts. Therefore people should try to find a way to make use of all such provision before they spoil, instead of throwing them away saying, "this has gone off" or "we cannot use this". Only in this way can they give these gifts their due; otherwise the result is scarcity and ingratitude to Allah.

83- How do angels take people in death? Does the person see the angel when his soul is being taken?

Death is a sort of transformation in dimension. The connection between the soul of the person and his worldly body becomes severed when he dies. Beginning from the moment man dies, he passes to a dimension where he can see the angels of death. This transition is also the beginning of man's eternal life. Along with passing to a different dimension, the person sees the angel who has come to take his soul, who even talks to him. However, not everybody is taken in death in the same way. What the angels who come to take the soul of believers do and say is entirely different from those who come to take soul of the unbelievers.

The angels take the soul of believers in a virtuous state, saying "peace be upon you!" At the same time they give the glad tidings of Paradise they will enter. (Surat an-Nahl, 32)

On the other hand, the angel who comes to take an unbeliever in death beats his face and his back when he least expects it (Surah Muhammad, 27) They pluck his soul out harshly, while the unbeliever's legs are entwined together (Surat al-Qiyama, 29) When the angels stretch out their hands to him, they give him the news of the punishment of humiliation and fire, which will last forever. (Surat al-An'am, 93)

84- What is the provoking whisper of satan?

Satan approaches man from all directions, aiming to distract him from the path of Allah. He plays various tricks on man in order to achieve his goal. Satanic suggestion is one of these tricks. Satanic suggestions are delusions, doubts cast in the heart, vain hopes, disturbing thoughts or words whispered by satan in order to keep people occupied with vain things, and to divert them from matters that they really should be preoccupied with. This characteristic of satan is related in the Qur'an as follows:

Say: "I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind, from the evil of the insidious whisperer who whispers in people's breasts." (Surat an-Nas, 1-5)

Satan whispers to man against the Qur'an, desiring to prevent him from thinking soundly and to keep him occupied with illusions about his religion that will be harmful to him both in this world and in the Hereafter. He attempts to cause the person to lose his self-confidence by the influence of senseless and inconsistent ideas projected as the person's own thoughts. One who does not hold to the Qur'an has no protection against this trick of satan, and becomes distracted by his whisperings and starts to waver. These whispers corrupt one's knowledge of religion, and causes the individual to consider Allah in a manner inappropriate to His exaltedness and causes him to be in continual doubt. As a result of this, instead of pondering on the greatness of Allah and on the meaning of his life in the world, he wastes his time with things that are of no benefit either to himself or to other people. Consequently, satan achieves success with this person, whose unawareness of the Qur'an and remoteness from Islamic morals lead him to endless punishment. It is stated in the Qur'an that unbelievers and wrongdoers are always susceptible to the influence of satan, and act under the direction of his whisperings:

Shall I tell you upon whom the satans descend? They descend on every evil liar. They give them a hearing and most of them are liars. (Surat ash-Shu'ara, 221-223)

85- How can man escape from the whisperings of satan?

As Allah informs us in the Qur'an, satan's scheming is always feeble (Surat an-Nisa, 76) He has no authority over those who believe and put their trust in our Lord. Allah has informed believers about what they should do when satan whispers to them and about how to escape from his whispering. Believers, who obey the Qur'an, immediately seek refuge in Allah from satan when he whispers to them. Very quickly they see that the thought crossing their mind is, in fact, a whisper of satan.

Without being distressed at all, they remember Allah and escape this evil trick. The Qur'an informs us of this:

If an evil impulse from satan provokes you, seek refuge in Allah. He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. As for those who guard against evil, when they are bothered by visitors from satan, they remember and immediately see clearly. (Surat al-A'raf, 200-201)

86- What should one do when the Qur'an is recited?

Allah commands people to seek refuge with Him from satan, be quiet and listen to the Qur'an when it is recited:

When the Qur'an is recited listen to it and be quiet so that hopefully you will gain mercy. (Surat al-A'raf, 204)

Many people do not know about this commandment of Allah, and continue to live their daily lives and to talk with others when the Qur'an is being recited on TV or on the radio. Yet what should be done in such a situation is to be quiet and to listen to it. If silence cannot be maintained under the circumstances, then the TV or radio may be turned off, since to do otherwise would be to neglect what Allah has commanded.

87- Is it sufficient to recite the Qur'an?

Today, many people who characterise themselves as Muslims, in fact, do not know what Allah wants them to do nor how they can be true Muslims. This is because they have not read the holy book that Allah has sent to them even once throughout their lives. However, Allah has sent the Qur'an to inform us why He has created mankind and what He wants us to do. Those who desire to know Allah, and to enter His Paradise earning His good pleasure, should have a thorough knowledge of the Qur'an.

However in societies of ignorance there is an erroneous opinion of the Qur'an. Some of these people merely read the Qur'an, yet do not reflect on the advice that Allah offers them and neither do they follow it. Reading the Qur'an is certainly a form of worship, but the Qur'an is read in order to know Allah and to learn and act upon what He wants. Again, some of these people think that the Qur'an is merely a book of prayers. While praying, they recite the verses they previously memorised, but do not understand their meaning. Allah has given examples in the Qur'an of the prayers of prophets; no doubt the believers should take them as a model. However, it would be a mistake to consider the Qur'an as merely a book of prayers.

The Qur'an was sent by Allah as a guidance for believers, and its clear verses deliver believers from darkness to light. Allah relates this feature of the Qur'an as follows:

… A Light has come to you from Allah and a Clear Book. By it, Allah guides those who follow what pleases Him to the ways of Peace. He will bring them from the darkness to the light by His permission, and guide them to a straight path. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 15-16)

… This is a Book We have sent down to you so that you can bring mankind from the darkness to the light, by the permission of their Lord, to the Path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy. (Surah Ibrahim, 1)

An erroneous belief that these people hold about the Qur'an is that it was sent to past nations. Yet despite the passing time, developing technology, or living in the space age or in the computer age does not change anything at all. The greed, passions, opinions and ignorance of people who lived 1400 years ago are identical with those of the people of today or of the people of the future. On the other hand, the source of true knowledge that these behaviours should be replaced with is always the Qur'an. Those who, in order not to obey the Qur'an, assert that it is "the legends of previous people", are warned of Hell as follows:

When Our Signs are recited to him, he says, "Just myths and legends of the previous peoples!" No indeed! Rather what they have earned has rusted up their hearts. No indeed! Rather that Day they will be veiled from their Lord. Then they will roast in the Blazing Fire. (Surat al-Mutaffifin, 13-16)

88- What aspects of religion ensure peace and harmony?

Religion, before all else, requires people to live according to their conscience. In an environment where everyone acts conscientiously, there will not be any quarrels, fighting or behaviour that would disturb the peace.

Those who live by Islamic morals have wisdom and common sense; thus their approach to events are also in line with this. Therefore, they always exhibit positive and reassuring behaviour, which make their environment easy and comfortable.

There is justice in Islamic morals. Everybody is given his due perfectly, therefore, no one needs to struggle for his rights or to apply various methods to achieve them. His rights are at any rate protected by other devout and conscientious people in the most decent manner.

Since they fear Allah, people of faith do not get involved in actions which Allah has forbidden, such as murder, suicide or theft. They never do things which they will not be able to account for in the Hereafter.

Where people live by Islamic morals, there is no greed for personal interests. Every man is liable to do the best he can for the common benefit of religion. Therefore, a disturbance that may result from the clash of interests does not exist.

There is no compulsion where religion is concerned. Believers are responsible only to communicate the truths which are revealed by religion.

In addition to these, it is stated in the Qur'an that Allah sends down peace of reassurance into the hearts of believers. This is a great gift of Allah to righteous believers. This fact is related in the Qur'an as follows:

It is He Who sent down serenity into the hearts of the believers thereby increasing their faith with more faith—the legions of the heavens and the earth belong to Allah. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (Surat al-Fath, 4)

What has been mentioned so far is only a general description of the delightful environment that Islamic morals offer to mankind. Religion produces the most peaceful, the most ideal and the most perfect environment that could ever be in the world, both for the individual and for communities.

89- What are the morals of trade as advised in the Qur'an?

A believer performs every deed in order to earn the good pleasure of Allah. No matter what he is engaged in, he does not let it divert him from his real aim. Allah has mentioned in the Qur'an that trade or commerce does not make believers forget their real goal:

There are men who proclaim His glory morning and evening, not distracted by trade or commerce from the remembrance of Allah and the establishment of prayer and the payment of alms; fearing a day when all hearts and eyes will be in turmoil. (Surat an-Nur, 36-37)

Allah wants believers to be of virtuous character, and believers strive to fulfil the requirements of this character whatever activity they are engaged in. Hence, they are honest, sincere, diligent, fair and modest even while they are conducting trade. Their attention is again focused on the pleasure of Allah and on the limits of what He permits and what He forbids. Besides this, Allah has also commanded believers not to encroach on the rights of others, to give full measure and full weight, and not to cheat people of their belongings (Surah Hud, 85).

In Surat al-Isra', Allah states that it is better to be honest, to be fair and to please Him by means of exhibiting such good behaviour:

Give full measure when you measure and weigh with a level balance. That is better and gives the best result. (Surat al-Isra 35)

90- How does not putting trust in Allah destroy the soul?

Putting one's trust in Allah means to trust in and rely on Allah in every matter, and to yield to Him knowing that He is the unique protector. Believers, who are aware of the fact that events take place under the whole control of Allah, know that He always supports and helps those who believe in Him. People who are in this frame of mind, surely feel peace and security. On the other hand, people who do not put their trust in Allah and do not yield themselves to Him, spend their entire lives in fear, anxiety, distress, panic, insecurity, dissatisfaction, greed, anger, depression, regret, envy etc. Allah places turmoil in the hearts of those people on account of their disbelief. He does not let them enjoy the ease, comfort and peace of putting their trust in Him. The distress of those who do not rely on Allah is described in the Qur'an as follows:

When Allah desires to guide someone, He expands his breast to Islam. When He desires to misguide someone, He makes his breast narrow and constricted as if he were climbing up into the sky. That is how Allah defiles those who have no faith. (Surat al-An'am, 125)

Be people of pure natural belief in Allah, not associating anything else with Him. As for anyone who associates others with Allah, it is as though he had fallen from the sky and the birds had seized him and carried him away or the wind had dropped him in a distant place.   (Surat al-Hajj, 31)

91- How does one pray in action?

Prayer in action is to keep on asking for something by means of verbal prayer while exerting oneself and doing everything needed to bring about the desired result. For example, when a person wants to drink some water, he does not sit and wait for it to appear in front of him; instead he pours some water into a glass and then drinks it. In other words, in order to get what he asks from Allah, he acts according to the causes and rules that Allah has taught him and then expects the best result from Allah. Likewise, one may want to pass an exam, so he prays to Allah, studies hard, learns the things that he should, avoids being in environments that may distract his attention or hinder him from studying, and as a result of these efforts, Allah gives him success.

Some people have an erroneous way of thinking about prayer. According to these people, after praying to Allah, one should isolate oneself and wait for the outcome of that prayer. However, this is not sincere behaviour because someone who really wants something should pray for it both in words and actions. Yet one should not fall into the error of those who say, "I did everything necessary" performing all kinds of physical efforts, yet forgetting to pray to Allah verbally. Both kinds of prayer should be performed together.

92- What is the connection between lack of Islamic morals and the degeneration of some communities?

People who do not submit to the religion that Allah has sent for mankind do not have the good manners described in the Qur'an and do not preserve the limits stated in the Qur'an. Since they do not fear Allah and do not believe in the Hereafter, they are not affected by the fear of being judged for what they do. For that reason, societies without Islamic morals are full of individuals who perform all kinds of immoralities and evil without any fear and without thinking of the consequences. A rapid and extensive process of degeneration is inevitable for such societies. This social decline can be seen in the ease and frequency with which people commit robbery, cause damage to other people, lose their temper, kill people, violate the rights of others, lie, never appreciate anyone other than themselves, never do anything except in return for material benefit, and always oppress those who are weaker than themselves. A person who says, "I may not be religious, but I am not a violent person either" may one day find himself in a situation that he can no longer endure, and claim to have the right to do all kinds of wrong actions. He may get so angry that he may even attempt to kill someone.

Irreligiousness, since it does not accept any limits, destroys all humane feelings in society and leads to a terrible degeneration. In irreligious societies, the justice, humility, good manners, compassion and affection that religion brings to mankind never exist. Therefore, lack of Islamic morals is the main source of a community's moral and social decline.

93- What kind of beings are the jinn? Are there believers and unbelievers among the jinn? Will there be Paradise and Hell in the Hereafter in which they will live?

Jinn are beings who are created, like human beings, to worship Allah, but are created out of fire, unlike man who is created from dust (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 56, Surat al-Hijr: 27). Allah sends messengers to the jinn, too, in order to make them believe (Surat al-An'am: 130). There are believers and disbelievers among them. Allah relates this fact about the jinn in the Qur'an as follows:

[A band of the jinn said:] "Some of us are Muslims and some are deviators. Those who have become Muslim are those who sought right guidance." (Surat al-Jinn, 14)

Besides this, among them are those who oppose the prophets, like their human counterparts:

In this way We have appointed as enemies to every Prophet satans from both mankind and from the jinn... (Surat al-An'am, 112)

Consequently the jinn, just like people, will be fully paid in the Hereafter for what they do. Those who believe in Allah, and pay heed to the warnings of the prophets will be repaid for their deeds and will not be wronged. On the other hand, jinn who disbelieve will be thrown into Hell together with disbelieving people. Allah has related this fact in the Qur'an as follows:

We created many of the jinn and mankind for Hell. They have hearts they do not understand with. They have eyes they do not see with. They have ears they do not hear with. Such people are like cattle. No, they are even further astray! They are the unaware. (Surat al-A'raf, 179)

94- Can the jinn foretell the future?

Allah has stated in many verses in the Qur'an that no one, other than Himself, has knowledge of the unseen and will never have the capacity to acquire it. One of these verses states as follows:

Say: "No one in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allah." They are not aware of when they will be raised.   (Surat an-Naml, 65)

Jinn can never, unless Allah wills, gain knowledge about the future. There are verses in the Qur'an relating that the jinn will attempt to gain knowledge of the unseen, but will not succeed and will themselves admit that they cannot. These verses of Surat al-Jinn abolish the erroneous beliefs that people have about the jinn. In addition, the jinn who served the Prophet Sulayman (peace be upon him) are also mentioned in the Qur'an, and it is mentioned that these jinn learned that the Prophet Sulayman (pbuh) had died much later on. Therefore, people who seek refuge in the jinn—hoping to find favour with them—should know that they falling into great error; it is not possible, unless Allah wills, for jinn to gain any knowledge about the future. The fact that jinn do not have any knowledge of the future is pointed out in the story of Prophet Sulayman (peace be upon him) in the Qur'an:

Then when We decreed that he should die, nothing divulged his death to them except the worm which ate his staff; so that when he fell down it was made clear to the jinn that if they had truly had knowledge of the unseen they need not have stayed there suffering humiliating punishment. (Surah Saba, 14)

Other verses in Surat al-Jinn which relate to the fact that the jinn cannot know the unseen are as follows:

We tried, as usual, to travel to heaven in search of news but found it filled with fierce guards and meteors. We used to sit there on special seats to listen in. But anyone listening now finds a fiery meteor in wait for him. We have no idea whether evil is intended for those on the earth, or whether their Lord intends them to be rightly guided. (Surat al-Jinn, 8-10)

95- Can the question of how life emerged on earth be answered by the fossil record?

We can easily find the answer to the question of how living beings originated in the fossil record. The oldest fossils of complex living creatures are found is the stratum of the Cambrian era, which has an estimated age of 520-530 million years.

The fossils found in the Cambrian rocks belonged to snails, trilobites, sponges, earthworms, jellyfish, marine crustaceans and sea lilies. All of these invertebrates emerged suddenly and completely without previous ancestors, which is contrary to what the theory of evolution claims. This miraculous and sudden emergence of living beings is referred to as the "Cambrian Explosion" by scientists.

How such a great number of animal species could have emerged all of a sudden is a question that remains unanswered by evolutionists. An English biologist Richard Dawkins, one of the foremost advocates of evolutionist thought in the world, comments on this as follows:

… For example the Cambrian strata of rocks, vintage about 600 million years, are the oldest ones in which we find most of the major invertebrate groups. And we find many of them already in an advanced state of evolution, the very first time they appear. It is as though they were just planted there, without any evolutionary history. Needless to say, this appearance of sudden planting has delighted creationists. (Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker, London:W. W. Norton 1986, p. 229.)

As Dawkins, who is an evolutionist, is forced to acknowledge, the Cambrian Explosion is strong evidence for creation.

96- What structures did the creatures that lived millions of years ago have?

Creatures that lived about 500 million years ago had complex structures no different from those of today. Fossils that appeared in the Cambrian period have been shocking for scientists, especially for the evolutionists. Because according to the theory of evolution, creatures of that period should have had "primitive" systems, different from the living things of today.

However the complex systems they have like eyes, gills and circulatory system are evidence of the fact that these creatures were not primitive. For example, the trilobites of the Cambrian period had compound eyes with multi-faceted eye lenses as do some insects today. These complexly structured eyes of the trilobites consisted of hundreds of hexagonal lenses forming a structure resembling a honeycomb. This perfect eye structure which appeared 530 million years ago forced evolutionists to express their amazement.

David Raup, an evolutionist professor of geology at Harvard, Rochester, and Chicago Universities, is forced to acknowledge the impossibility of the formation of the trilobite eye by chance saying: "the trilobites 450 million years ago used an optimal design which would require a well trained and imaginative optical engineer to develop today" (David Raup, "Conflicts Between Darwin and Paleontology", Bulletin, Field Museum of Natural History, Vol 50, January 1979, p. 24.)

97- Can evolutionists, who assert that dinosaurs took wing while hunting flies, explain the origin of flies?

Evolutionists cannot come up with an explanation for the origin of flies. Yet, surprisingly, though they cannot explain the formation of a tiny fly, they attempt to explain the transformation of gigantic dinosaurs into birds. Moreover, they fabricate an imaginary scenario asserting that dinosaurs who flapped their front legs to hunt flies took flight. It is, undoubtedly, senseless for a theory which cannot come up with an explanation even for a tiny fly, to comment on how completely flightless creatures managed to take to the air.

Evolutionists have valid reasons for not mentioning the origin of flies. First of all, flies have a perfect flight mechanism, which cannot be wholly imitated even with today's technology. An average fly has a wing system that enables it to flutter its wings 500 times a second. Moreover, this system is planned so perfectly that it is able to move both its wings simultaneously at such an amazing speed. Apart from this, it has a complex respiratory system. It can use the oxygen it needs to fly in a much quicker and much more efficient way than other living things.

English biologist Robin Wootton describes the perfect creation of the fly as follows:

The better we understand the functioning of insect wings, the more subtle and beautiful their designs appear. . . . Structures are traditionally designed to deform as little as possible; mechanisms are designed to move component parts in predictable ways. Insect wings combine both in one, using components with a wide range of elastic properties, elegantly assembled to allow appropriate deformations in response to appropriate forces and to make the best possible use of air. They have few if any technological parallels – yet. (Robin J. Wootton, "The Mechanical Design of Insect Wings", Scientific American, v. 263, November 1990, p.120)

98- Are elephants, squirrels and other mammals derived from a common origin?

According to the unscientific claims of the theory of evolution, reptiles are the ancestors both of birds and of mammals. When mammals are considered, it can easily be seen how impossible such a claim is. For example, let's think about tigers, cows, bears, elephants, dolphins, whales, mice and bats. There are great structural differences between these mammal species. Furthermore, each of these living things possesses systems specifically designed for their own needs. For example, dolphins have a very sensitive sonar system. Bears have mechanisms which are appropriate to the climatic conditions of their habitat.

Evolutionist zoologist R. Eric Lombard expresses what great difficulty these differences cause to evolutionists as follows:

Those searching for specific information useful in constructing phylogenies [evolutionary development] of mammalian taxa will be disappointed. (R. Eric Lombard, "Review of Evolutionary Principles of the Mammalian Middle Ear, Gerald Fleischer," Evolution, vol. 33, December 1979, p. 1230)

Apart from these differences, the fossil record demonstrates that mammals, like all living things, appeared on earth suddenly and fully formed with their present perfect structures, without any evolutionary process.

99- Can living cells come into being by chance?

No, they cannot. Cells have such a complex structure that it is not possible for them to have come into existence spontaneously or by chance. In a small space which can only be seen by a microscope, there are incredibly complex structures such as specialised working systems, communication systems, systems for in-coming and out-going transportation, control systems for the exchange of materials and centres where information is recorded. W. H. Thorpe, an evolutionist scientist, acknowledges the exquisiteness in the structure of a cell saying: "the most elementary type of cell constitutes a 'mechanism' unimaginably more complex than any machine yet thought up, let alone constructed, by man." (W. R. Bird, The Origin of Species Revisited, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Co., 1991, pp. 298-99.)

The probability of the spontaneous formation of such a perfect structure, which mankind, with 20th century technology at its disposal cannot succeed in producing, is "zero". The cell is created by Allah with its complete perfect structure.

100- Could the molecule called DNA, which is found in the nucleus of cells, have come into being by chance?

DNA is a molecule, which has an extremely complex structure. This molecule contains the complete information of the human body, which is recorded by means of a special coding system. In addition to features like height, eye, hair and skin colours, the DNA of a single cell also contains the design of 206 bones, 600 muscles, a network of 10,000 auditory muscles, a network of 2 million optic nerves, 100 billion nerve cells and 100 trillion cells in the body. If we were to write down the information coded in the DNA, we would end up with a giant library consisting of 900 volumes of encyclopaedias of 500 pages each. Yet this incredibly voluminous information is not encoded in volumes of encyclopaedias, but in the components of DNA called "genes".

Genes are made up of four special bases called nucleotides, which occur in a particular sequence. An error in this sequence would render the gene completely useless. There are 200,000 genes in the human body, and each of the millions of nucleotides making up these genes must be in the right sequence. When mathematical calculations are done to measure the probability of this sequence being formed by chance, its impossibility becomes evident. For example according to the calculations of Frank Salisbury, an evolutionist biologist, the possibility is one in 41,000. The number 41,000 is the equivalent of 10600, which gives the figure 1 followed by 600 zeros! This number is completely beyond our comprehension.

The impossibility of the formation of RNA and DNA by a coincidental accumulation of nucleotides is expressed by the French scientist Paul Auger in the following way:

We have to sharply distinguish the two stages in the chance formation of complex molecules such as nucleotides by chemical events. The production of nucleotides one by one—which is possible—and the combination of these within very special sequences. The second is absolutely impossible. (Paul Auger, De La Physique Theorique a la Biologie, 1970, p. 118)