- English translation
Better to shelter in a husband's shade than to sit in the shade of a wall.
- Literal wording
A man's shade, and not a wall's shade.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying contrasts two kinds of shade. A husband's shade means his protection, support, and care for his wife's affairs. A wall's shade means a woman sitting alone and idle, with no one to shelter her. However modest the husband, his cover is judged better.
More broadly, the proverb voices a pragmatic preference for imperfect security over being left without any support. This traditional, gendered view treats marriage as social and practical shelter for a woman and ranks it above staying unmarried.
- When it is used
Used when urging a woman to accept marriage, or defending a modest match, on the view that even an imperfect husband offers more protection and standing than staying single. It reflects a traditional gendered view tying a woman's security to marriage, not advice to endorse.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic, with dialectal forms for 'shade,' 'man,' and 'wall'
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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