كَالْمُسْتَجِيرِ مِنَ الرَّمْضَاءِ بِالنَّارِ
Like seeking refuge from scorching ground in fire.
Allusion can invoke a recognized narrative, saying, or verse without retelling it. The image of escaping scorching ground by entering fire compactly expresses a move from hardship into worse peril.
An expanded prose explanation can help inexperienced readers, but it sacrifices the swift associative force that allusion gains from shared cultural knowledge. Whether expansion improves the passage depends on audience and purpose.