«اِلْحَاوِي مَا يْمُوتْشْ إِلَّا بِالتِّعْبَانْ»

Whoever spends a life handling something dangerous will most likely be hurt by that very thing, as the ḥāwi, a snake handler who catches and displays snakes, is by snakes. Skill and familiarity do not cancel the hazard; repeated exposure makes eventual injury from it more likely, not less.

The saying links the dangers a person faces to the work they know best. It can warn against overconfidence or explain, with little surprise, why someone is harmed by a familiar risk.

Use it when someone's regular work or habit involves a known hazard and harm comes from that source, as a warning or a wry remark after an expert is hurt by their specialty. It observes a pattern, not a wish for harm, but can sound ominous aimed at someone.