إِذا ماجَعَلتُ السِرَّ بَيني وَبَينَهُ

إِذا ماجَعَلتُ السِرَّ بَيني وَبَينَهُ

فَلَيسَ عَلى قَتلي يَزيدُ بِقادِرِ

فَلَيسَ عَلى قَتلي يَزيدُ بِقادِرِ

If I place the secret between me and him,

If I confide my secret to him

Then Yazid is not capable of killing me.

Then nothing further hastens my demise

فَجِئتُ وَقَد قامَ الخُصومُ كَأَنَّهُم

فَجِئتُ وَقَد قامَ الخُصومُ كَأَنَّهُم

قُرومٌ تَسامى بَينَهُنَّ الحَناجِرُ

قُرومٌ تَسامى بَينَهُنَّ الحَناجِرُ

So I came, and the litigants were already standing, as though they were

So I came while my opponents stood as though

Bull camels, their throats rising high among them.

They were a row of leather waterskins with outstretched necks

أُزاحِمُهُم بِالبابِ إِذ يَدفَعونَني

أُزاحِمُهُم بِالبابِ إِذ يَدفَعونَني

وَبِالظَهرِ مِنّي مِن قَرا البابِ عاذِرُ

وَبِالظَهرِ مِنّي مِن قَرا البابِ عاذِرُ

I jostled with them at the door as they pushed me,

I barged in on them at the entrance while they pushed me back

And my back bore a scar from the back of the door.

And blamed the back of me for barring the entrance