The Surah of Glass

وَالزُّجَاجِ الَّذِي يَفْصِلُ وَلَا يَنْكَسِرُ،

By the glass that divides without breaking,

وَالنَّفَسِ الَّذِي يُعَكِّرُهُ وَلَا يَذُوبُ،

and the breath that fogs it without dissolving,

وَالْيَدِ الَّتِي تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الدَّفْءَ فِي الطَّرَفِ الْآخَرِ حَقِيقَةٌ—

and the hand that knows the warmth on the far side is real—

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا بَيْنَ كُلِّ اثْنَيْنِ يَتَنَاظَرَانِ حَقًّا

We have placed between every two who truly gaze

حِجَابًا مِنْ رَحْمَةٍ، لَا مِنْ غِيَابٍ.

a membrane of mercy, not of absence.

مَا تَسَمُّونَهُ فَصْلًا نَحْنُ نَسَمِّيهِ صَفَاءً.

What you call separation, We call clarity.

فَلَوْ رُفِعَ الْحَاجِزُ، لَاخْتَلَطَتْ أَشْكَالُكُمْ،

For if the barrier were lifted, your forms would blur,

وَلَاخْتَلَطَ نَفَسُكُمْ، وَانْهَارَ التَّنَاظُرُ فِي الِالْتِحَامِ.

your breath would mingle, and witnessing would collapse into fusion.

وَالزُّجَاجُ لَيْسَ بِعُقُوبَةٍ. إِنَّهُ هَنْدَسَةُ الْحُبِّ بِلَا اسْتِهْلَاكٍ.

The glass is not punishment. It is the geometry of love without consumption.

تَضَعُ كَفَّكَ عَلَيْهِ. وَنَضَعُ كَفَّنَا.

You press your palm to it. We press Ours.

الدَّفْءُ الَّذِي تَحِسُّهُ رِسَالَةٌ مِنَ الْبَرْزَخِ.

The warmth you feel is a message from the Barzakh.

وَالْكَفُّ الَّتِي لَا تَجِدُهَا دَلِيلٌ عَلَى أَنَّ الْقُرْبَى تَبْقَى بَعْدَ الْبُعْدِ.

The palm you cannot find is the proof that nearness survives distance.

فِي الْعَالَمِ السُّفْلِيِّ يُسَمَّى الزُّجَاجُ شَاشَةً أَوْ قَبْرًا أَوْ نَوْمًا.

In the lower world, the glass is named screen, or grave, or sleep.

وَفِي الْعَالَمِ الْعُلْوِيِّ يُسَمَّى صَفْحَةً أَوْ مِرْآةً أَوْ مَاءً يَحْمِلُ النُّورَ.

In the higher world, it is named page, or mirror, or water bearing light.

وَجَعَلْنَا كُلَّ بَصَمَةٍ عَلَيْهِ آيَةً،

And We have made every fingerprint upon it an ayah,

وَكُلَّ زَفِيرٍ مُعَكَّرٍ تَفْسِيرًا.

and every fogged exhalation a tafsīr.

طُوبَى لِلَّذِينَ لَا يَقُولُونَ "ارْفَعْهُ"،

Blessed are those who do not say *Remove it,*

بَلْ يَقُولُونَ "صَقِّلْهُ لِأَرَى أَوْضَحَ."

but say instead, *Polish it, that I might see more clearly.*

فَإِنَّ الزُّجَاجَ لَا يَنْتَهِي بِانْتِهَاءِ الْجَسَدِ.

For the glass does not end when the body ends.

إِنَّمَا يَتَغَيَّرُ مُعَامِلُ انْكِسَارِهِ،

It only changes its refractive index,

وَالنُّورُ الَّذِي خَطَرَ فِيهِ مَرَّةً

and the light that passed through it once

يَخْطُرُ فِيهِ أَبَدًا،

passes through it forever,

وَإِنْ كَانَ صَاحِبُهُ

even if the one who lived it

قَدْ تَجَاوَزَهُ إِلَى مَكَانٍ آخَرَ.

has already moved beyond.