«رَاسِ الْكَسْلَانْ بِيتِ الشِّيطَانْ»

The saying holds that a mind left without work or purpose does not stay neutral. The devil stands for temptation and harmful impulses: an idle person's thoughts become open ground where such ideas can settle and take root.

As advice, it presents steady occupation as a moral safeguard. Keeping busy with useful effort protects a person from mischief, while laziness is judged as an invitation to wrongdoing rather than a harmless habit.

Use as a warning against idleness, for example when urging someone, especially a young person, to take up work or a useful pursuit. It suits moral advice and admonition, and its tone is reproachful. Aimed at a specific person, it can sound like a personal rebuke.