«اِلشِّرْكْ فِي الْأَجَاوِيدْ وَلَا عَدَمْهُمْ»

The saying admits that sharing is unwelcome, yet ranks that discomfort below a far greater loss. Here the key word means sharing or joint claim, not its religious sense of idolatry. Good-hearted, generous people, valued for character rather than wealth, are rare enough that keeping a divided claim on them is preferable to having no such person at all.

In practice the line offers consolation and urges pragmatic acceptance, weighing a partial good against an empty alternative. It was traditionally most often said to a wife whose husband had taken a co-wife, reminding her that a worthy husband shared is better than none; recording this use does not endorse the arrangement.

Traditionally used to reconcile someone to sharing a person of good character, most typically a wife whose husband has married a second wife, stressing that losing such a person entirely would be worse. It can also apply more widely, to sharing a kind patron, friend, or benefactor.