لو أنَّ بيضةَ زاغٍ راحَ يحضُنُها

لو أنَّ بيضةَ زاغٍ راحَ يحضُنُها

في جَنّةِ الخلْدِ طاووسٌ ويرأَمُها

في جَنّةِ الخلْدِ طاووسٌ ويرأَمُها

If a crow’s egg were brooded over

If a toad's egg was nurtured

In the Garden of Eternity by a peacock that cherished it,

In Paradise by a peacock who warmed it

وكان بالكوثرِ العذب الفرات لِدى

وكان بالكوثرِ العذب الفرات لِدى

حَضيرة القدسِ مرباها ومطعمها

حَضيرة القدسِ مرباها ومطعمها

And by al-Kawthar, sweet and fresh, beside

And the sweet Euphrates River by the Kauthar

The holy precinct, were its rearing place and its food,

Was its habitat and feeding place in the vicinity of Jerusalem

لم تأتِ إِلاّ بزاغٍ وهي صاغرة

لم تأتِ إِلاّ بزاغٍ وهي صاغرة

وذلك الأصلُ لا ينفكُّ يَلْزَمُها

وذلك الأصلُ لا ينفكُّ يَلْزَمُها

It would hatch nothing but a crow, itself abased,

It would still come out only as a gaping toad

And that origin would never cease to cling to it.

For that is the essence it cannot escape or shed