Take for example the final holy book of Allah (God in Arabic), the Qu’ran. This is the book of Islam, revealed by the final messenger of Allah, Muhammad (SWS). Never has it been altered, and the true Arabic language of the Qu’ran is in complete unison. It’s never been changed, and thus the message has never lost its luster. The only time it loses some of its energy is when being translated to another language, say, English. That is why to understand the full context one must understand the Arabic language just enough to understand the whole of the Qu’ran. That way he will get the solid picture.
Just the same, anything converted to something loses a part of itself. When something is changed, it loses energy. When you change your seat from one location to another, you expend energy in order to do that. But that is a necessity. Thus is the law of alchemy.
Entropy is the concept of everything tending towards chaos. Everything actually goes towards this void of nothingness, an almost pessimistic reality of nature. Everything is bound to destroy itself one day. Every creation will die. One day all will fade away into the void of the universe. And that is the very reality of entropy. Even when you don’t move, when you just sit there, energy is being expended. How? You lose energy through breathing. You lose energy due to gravity. You lose energy due to your mind function. You are tending towards your death. Even when you don’t sit there and think, gravity is pushing you downwards, and when one doesn’t move, gravity will eventually crush him because of his stasis. As the famous philosopher once said, “All is flux; nothing is still.”
The law of conversion states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. It’s always existent. The thing about it is that it only can be converted. It can change form; but mass will never be destroyed. So however much one might change his form, the energy itself won’t be destroyed, but it can be transferred. By getting up to change your seat, you are expending energy, but that energy is used to make your body move to another location. So all in all, energy isn’t destroyed; it may be lost from a certain place though.
Take the example of the human. Let’s talk about the human soul in particular. It is said to be the life giving element of the human. That element of the human actually can never die. It is pure energy, and unlike the body, it doesn’t decay thus. The body can transfer its energy into the Earth after it dies and decays; the soul is constant.
“He Who has created all things in the best possible way. He commenced the creation of man from clay; then produced his seed from an extract of base fluid; then formed him and breathed His Soul into him and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you show!”(Surat as-Sajda, 7-9)
This way the example of the soul is an example of constant energy which cannot be destroyed. Transfer may cause loss of energy, but it doesn’t ever get destroyed.
Fire is another great example. That is one of the prime examples of entropy, which is also the second law of thermodynamics. When one lights a fire, energy is needed. That means you need energy to find combustible material, and enough force to cause a spark that will combust in the chemically potent material. Then the material will burn in an ember after some energy is lost through causing the spark, but warmth and light is thus provided. The energy used to spark the fire was converted into light and fire! The main entropic part of this example is that one can easily step, blow, or put water on the fire to extinguish it. The point is that it takes less energy to kill it than give it life. Killing something takes less energy than giving it life. It’s easier to lose out than gain, and similarly evil is easier than doing good.
“The Paradise is surrounded by hardships and the Hell-fire is surrounded by lusts.” –Prophet Muhammad (SWS)
People who do evil have an “easier” life. They think about the immediate and withhold that which is with them. Their ability to do good is hidden by their obscurity of apathy. They give less, and take more.
“Woe to those who give less [than due]
Who, when they take a measure from people, take in full.
But if they give a measure or by weight to them, they cause loss.
Do they not think that they will be resurrected
For a tremendous day-
The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds?” (Qu’ran 83:1-6)
This is why riba (Interest in Arabic) is forbidden in Islam. Interest takes more than due, rather than following the law of conversion of mass, which says all mass is constant. Trade should be constant similarly, because money is a way of energy for people. Money is needed to live: to have a home, to eat, to drink, to sleep, etc. Those who take with interest are robbing the energy of those who need that money.
“Those who eat Riba will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytan leading him to insanity. That is because they say: “Trading is only like Riba,” whereas Allah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba. So whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and stops eating Riba, shall not be punished for the past; his case is for Allah (to judge); but whoever returns (to Riba), such are the dwellers of the Fire ? they will Abide therein.)”
Quran- Surah AlBaqra(2:275)
This is why the original is always the best. In this world, we lose out by doing something. Time slowly erodes the edges of reality. Time eats away at our lives. We decay and die out, like crops. This world is easy for the disbelievers, but difficult for the believers because the disbelievers keep finding pleasure in the immediate, while the believers are patient for the ultimate. The disbelievers keep eating away at themselves with the immediate pleasures, but those pleasures are going to be the end of them. The believers on the other hand wade out with time, fighting the evils of the world and themselves, and are patient in all situations. They are those who are successful.
“The world is a prison-house for the believer and paradise for a non-believer.” –Prophet Muhammad (SWS)
It’s not about this transient world. It’s all going to decay one day, and that in a way the statement of alchemy. You can’t convert something without losing out. That’s why the original is always the best. That’s why you should not turn to the creation, but to the Creator. Turn to the Creator of all the worlds. Allah is the end and the beginning of everything, and there is nothing closer than Him, nor nothing after Him. He is the Most High, and the Creator. So turn to the best of them all. From Him will you get all the energy you need.
“Allah is sufficient for me, there is no God but He; on Him do I rely, and He is the Lord of Mighty Power.” (Qu’ran 9:129)