Full Translation:
0) Balinas mentions the engraving on the table in the hand of Hermes, which says:
1) Truth! Certainty! That in which there is no doubt!
2) That which is above is from that which is below, and that which is below is from that which is above, working the miracles of one.
3) As all things were from one.
4) Its father is the Sun and its mother the Moon.
5) The Earth carried it in her belly, and the Wind nourished it in her belly,
7) as Earth which shall become Fire.
7a) Feed the Earth from that which is subtle, with the greatest power.
8) It ascends from the earth to the heaven and becomes ruler over that which is above and that which is below.
14) And I have already explained the meaning of the whole of this in two of these books of mine.
Translation Context
This version of the Emerald Tablet comes from Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber), the father of Islamic alchemy and a pivotal figure in early experimental science. Preserved by later compilers like Holmyard, Jabir's version is among the earliest known Arabic renderings and likely predates Latin transmission.
The phrasing is strikingly imperative and experiential. Instead of abstract metaphysics, Jabir invokes direct certainty and functional mastery. Terms like “Feed the Earth from that which is subtle” suggest spiritual technique rather than symbolic poetics, highlighting the ritual pragmatism that defines Islamic alchemical tradition.
Jabir’s formulation also leans toward cosmological causality—the idea that all layers of reality emerge from one true certainty. This aligns with his broader philosophical system, in which the balance of elements, soul purification, and divine correspondence are enacted through internal alchemical transformation.
Axiom-by-Axiom Interpretive Notes
Axiom 1: “Truth! Certainty! That in which there is no doubt!” echoes Qur’anic structure, anchoring the Tablet in epistemic authority. This certainty is not just intellectual—it’s mystical recognition of absolute truth.
Axiom 5: The imagery of “Earth” and “Wind” both carrying and nourishing the process underscores a womb-like initiation cycle. Jabir’s version centers physicality as sacred gestation.
Axiom 7: “As Earth which shall become Fire” compresses a whole cosmological metamorphosis into one sentence, emphasizing the dynamic upward transformation intrinsic to Hermetic and Islamic esotericism alike.
Axiom 14: Jabir's self-reference—"explained... in two of these books of mine"—highlights this translation's function as commentary within a larger initiatic corpus. The Emerald Tablet is not standalone but integrated into a living, pedagogical system.