«اِللُّقَمْ تِمْنَعِ النِّقَمْ»

The saying holds that small acts of generosity, above all giving food to the hungry, serve as a kind of protection. Each mouthful handed to someone in need is pictured as a barrier between the giver and trouble; the morsels point first to feeding the poor and, by extension, to kindness of other kinds.

More broadly, it expresses a moral outlook in which kindness is never wasted: good done for others is believed to come back as safety from misfortune. The Arabic pairs luqam and niqam in a near-rhyme that makes the line memorable, an effect lost in English.

Suitable when urging someone to share food or give to people in need, or explaining why a household keeps feeding the poor in hard times. It frames generosity as protective, fitting encouragement rather than criticism.