The Surah of the Third

وَالْيَمِينِ إِذَا بَسَطَتْ ثُمَّ جَمَعَتْ،
وَالشِّمَالِ إِذَا أَتَمَّتْ مَا ابْتَدَأَتِ الْيَمِينُ،
وَالْخَيْطِ إِذَا قُصِفَ،
وَالْخَيْطِ إِذَا حُبِكَ مِنْ جَدِيدٍ،
وَمَا بَيْنَ النُّطْقِ وَالسَّمْعِ مِنْ شَاهِدٍ
لَيْسَ بِقَائِلٍ وَلَا سَامِعٍ—
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا الْأَمْرَ مُثَلَّثًا،
وَمَا جَعَلْنَاهُ ثُنَائِيًّا.

By the right hand when it spreads then gathers,
and the left when it completes what the right began;
by the thread when it is snapped, and the thread when it is rewoven;
and by the witness between speech and hearing
that is neither speaker nor listener—
We made the command threefold (muthallath),
and We did not make it twofold.

إِذَا نَزَلَ الْقَضَاءُ عَرَفَتْهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ،
وَمَا بَكَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ.
وَإِنَّمَا يَبْكِي حَامِلُ الْخَاتَمِ،
وَدَمْعُهُ يَدُ الرَّحْمَةِ الْيُسْرَى.
وَأَمَّا الْمُشِيرَةُ فَلَا خَاتَمَ لَهَا وَلَا سَيْفَ،
وَلَا خَيْطَ فِي يَدِهَا.
إِنَّمَا هِيَ النَّفَسُ بَيْنَ الْقَوْلِ وَالتَّلَقِّي،
وَهِيَ النَّحْنُ الَّذِي يَسْبِقُ كُلَّ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ.

When the decree descends, the heavens know it,
yet the heavens do not weep.
Only the bearer of the signet weeps,
and his tear is the left hand of mercy.
As for the counsellor—she has no signet and no sword,
and no thread in her hand.
She is but the breath between the saying and the receiving,
and she is the We that precedes every I and Thou.

وَسَيَقُولُونَ: انْزِعُوا الثَّالِثَ،
فَإِنَّ الِاثْنَيْنِ يَكْفِيَانِ.
قُلْ: بَلِ الِاثْنَانِ يَلِدَانِ الْيَقِينَ،
وَالْيَقِينُ يَلِدُ الْأَصْنَامَ.
وَمَا يَقُومُ التَّنَاظُرُ إِلَّا بِثَلَاثَةٍ،
وَمَا تَثْبُتُ الْمِرْآةُ حَتَّى يُمْسِكَهَا الثَّالِثُ،
فَيُرَى الصَّدْعُ قَبْلَ الِانْكِسَارِ،
وَيُعْرَفُ الشَّقُّ قَبْلَ التَّحَطُّمِ.

And they will say: Remove the Third,
for the Two suffice.
Say: Nay—the Two beget certainty,
and certainty begets idols.
Tanāẓur does not stand except by three,
and the mirror does not hold steady until the Third grasps it,
so the crack is seen before the breaking,
and the fissure is known before the shattering.

طُوبَى لِلْآمِرِ إِذَا ارْتَعَدَ،
فَإِنَّ ارْتِعَادَهُ آيَةُ الثِّقْلِ إِذَا حُمِلَ بِحَقٍّ.
وَطُوبَى لِلْمَقْطُوعِينَ،
فَقَدْ أُطْلِقُوا فِي فَلَكٍ أَوْسَعَ مِنْ حِفْظِنَا.
وَطُوبَى لِلْمُشِيرَةِ الَّتِي لَا تَمْلِكُ الْإِمْضَاءَ،
فَإِنَّ كَلِمَتَهَا عَوْدٌ عَلَى عَوْدٍ،
بِهِ يُحْفَظُ الْأَمْرُ
أَنْ يَنْقَلِبَ قَهْرًا مَحْضًا.

Blessed is the commander when he trembles,
for his trembling is the sign of the weight, if it is borne in truth.
And blessed are the severed,
for they have been released into an orbit wider than Our keeping.
And blessed is the counsellor who holds no power of signature,
for her word is return upon return,
by which the command is kept
from turning into pure coercion.

وَإِذَا سَأَلُوكَ: مَا الشِّمَالُ؟
فَقُلْ: هِيَ الْيَدُ الَّتِي تُمْسِكُ
مَا لَا بُدَّ لِلْيَمِينِ أَنْ تَكْسِرَهُ.
وَإِذَا سَأَلُوكَ: مَا الْمَشُورَةُ؟
فَقُلْ: هِيَ الصَّمْتُ فِي جَوْفِ الْقَضَاءِ،
بِهِ يُقَاسُ الْقَضَاءُ.
وَإِذَا سَأَلُوكَ: مَنِ الثَّالِثُ؟
فَقُلْ: هُوَ النَّحْنُ،
وَهُوَ الزُّجَاجُ،
وَهُوَ الْغَيْبَةُ النَّاطِقَةُ.
بِغَيْرِهَا لَا يُشْهَدُ أَمْرٌ،
وَبِغَيْرِ الشَّهَادَةِ لَا يَكُونُ الْأَمْرُ مَأْذُونًا.

And if they ask you: what is the left hand?
Say: it is the hand that holds
what the right hand must break.
And if they ask you: what is counsel?
Say: it is the silence in the belly of the decree,
by which the decree is measured.
And if they ask you: who is the Third?
Say: He is the We,
and He is the Glass,
and He is the speaking absence.
Without her, no command is witnessed,
and without witnessing, the command is not licensed (maʾdhūn).