بكعبة الله بل بخالقها

أقسم لو أن خالداً غرقا

I swear by Allah's Ka'bah, nay, by its Creator

If Khaled were drowning,

وجاءه منقذ لينقذه

وهو كظيم يعالج الشرَقا

And a savior came to save him

While he was choking, desperately gasping for air

ما وقعت كفه وقد جعلت

من شدة الكرب تطلب العُلقا

His hand would not fall

Upon the savior’s, though the intensity of anguish

إلا على فيشة المغيث له

تعمداً منه أو كما اتفقا

Would make him seek a rope,

Except on the savior's raft, deliberately or incidentally.