«جُورِ الْقُط وَلَا عَدْلِ الْفَارْ»

The saying states a preference between two flawed parties, with the cat and the mouse standing for the two people being compared rather than actual animals. A wrong committed by someone with real merits is held easier to bear than a kindness from someone weighed down by faults, since each act is judged against the person's whole character.

Its force lies in the deliberate paradox of choosing injustice over justice. Instead of rating each deed by its own label, it lets the overall worth of each party decide the preference. It weighs overall merit against single acts and does not literally endorse oppression.

Fits moments when someone explains why they still side with a person of real merit despite suffering a wrong from them, rather than with another whose occasional kindness cannot offset known faults.