Do the laws of physics originate from the matter they rule?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Laws of Physics

The laws of physics do not originate from the matter they rule; they come from the outside – that is, from the outside of the matter-energy universe we know.

Laws and rules are the foundations of order and peace all over the world, and that is the case in the universe. For example, if the law of gravity only were cancelled, everything would start to fly in the air and there would be a complete chaos. The laws in a country reflect the general will of those who live in that country, and the laws in the universe reflect the universal will of the universe dominant in the whole universe. Police forces in countries endure the obedience of individuals to the laws. In the universe, this task is done by universal forces and effects just like the force of gravity making everything in the world obey the law of gravity.

Laws are not matter and hence are not subject to the limitations of time and space. Thus, they are valid everywhere, but they are not anywhere. As Einstein puts it, a spirit becomes manifest in the laws of the universe.”¹

Laws are not matter and hence are not subject to the limitations of time and space. Thus, they are valid everywhere, but they are not anywhere.

The fact that every particle of matter obeys all laws fully and that the laws are known by only becoming manifest on matter formed the prejudice that the source of laws is a matter just like force. However, there is no element called law in the particles or waves, which are the basic building blocks of matter – similarly, there is no element called ‘law’ in the bodies of people who obey laws.

In his book called “A Different Universe”, Robert Laughlin, the winner of the 1998 Physics Nobel Prize, states that the source of the laws of physics is not in the micro-realm, and that it becomes manifest out of nothing in the macro-realm:

“The most fundamental laws of physics – such as Newton’s laws of motion or quantum mechanics – are in fact emergent. They are properties of large assemblages of matter, and when their exactness is examined too closely, it vanishes into nothing.”²

In other words, the laws of physics do not originate from the matter they rule; they come from the outside – that is, from the outside of the matter-energy universe we know. After studying some simple organizational phenomena such as weather, Laughlin reaches the following conclusion:

 “We are able to prove in these simple cases that the organization can acquire meaning and life of its own and begin to transcend the parts from which it is made. What physical science thus has to tell us is that the whole being more than the sum of its parts is not merely a concept but a physical phenomenon. Nature is regulated not only by a microscopic rule base but by powerful and general principles of organization.”³

 “Physical law cannot generally be anticipated by pure thought, but must be discovered experimentally.”⁴

These are powerful statements asserting, on the basis of observations, that the whole is more than the sum of its parts made of matter-energy originating from the Big Bang universe.

Nursi expresses it as follows:

“Yes, a decree exists in the whole, but not in the individual.”⁵

In that case, the ‘extras’ in the whole must be non-matter or meaning, and must be coming from ‘non-matter universes’, expressed as divine names by Nursi. He deals with the physical part of matter and its metaphysical aspect together and states the following:

“Yes, nature has two aspects. One of them is the apparent/external aspect, which is thought as reality by heedless and aberrant people. The other is the esoteric/internal aspect, which is divine art and the paint of the Merciful. The power added to nature is the power of the Creator, who is Wise and Knower.

Thus, nature has an apparent, that is, visible aspect. It is the aspect expressed as the supra-atomic realm. There is also the invisible sub-atomic aspect of nature, which is subject to quantum mechanics.

He states that the invisible part of these laws of nature, which is the subatomic realm, is the manifestation of the power of Allah, who knows everything and creates everything purposefully and usefully. In other words, the so-called natural forces are the realities that show Allah’s infinite power, wisdom, knowledge and will; those realities declare His existence and unity.

He draws attention to the mistakes in understanding nature which is the supra-atomic realm and draws attention to the issues that need to be known correctly:

 “The blind coincidence and alliance that heedless people attribute to nature, which they regard as the creator are delusions suggested by devils emerging from heresy. For, as it was definitely proved many times in my books, if this art, which is wonderful and extraordinary, is not the work of the powerful hand of Khabir (The All-Aware) and Basir (The All-Seeing), who has all perfect attributes, is it ever possible for the garmentclothed on the universe to have been produced by nature, which is intense, lifeless, conditional and created? Or, did a mosquito or a turtle produce those nice patterns and embroideries on the realms? God forbid!”

There are as many witnesses as the number of beings that everything including man was made by the Pre-Eternal Creator. Examples: 

1. The universe. Yes,all of the particles and compounds the universe includes witness through fifty-five tongues.

2. The Quran. Yes, the Quran, all prophets, saints and monotheists, their books, and the created signs inthe book of the universe and beings are just witnesses that the Creator created them.

3. The leader of the creatures, the Messenger, all prophets, saints and angels declare that Allah is the creator of everything.

4. All groups of people and jinn as species are witnesses with their natural needs.

5. Allah Himself witnesses that divinity and creation are peculiar to Allah.⁶

1.Walter Isaacson, Einstein – His Life and Universe. Simon & Schuster, New York, 2007, p. 388.
2.Laughlin, R. B., A Different Universe – Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down, Basic Books, New York, 2005, p. back cover page.
3.Laughlin, R. B., A Different Universe – Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down, Basic Books, New York, 2005, preface, p. xiv.
4.Laughlin, R. B., A Different Universe – Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down, Basic Books, New York, 2005, preface, p. xv.
5.Nursi, B. S. Muhakemat. Envar Neşriyat, Istanbul, 1996, p. 146.
6.Nursi, Mesnevî-I Nuriye. Rnk Neşriyat, Istanbul, 2015, p.144.

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