ProverbHub
Arabic · Arabic scriptProverb: Verified

«ذَنْبُهْ عَلَى جَنْبُهْ»

Meanings

Each meaning is reviewed on its own.

Meaning: Verified
English translation

His wrongdoing rests on his own shoulders.

Literal wording

His sin is upon his side.

Meaning and lesson

The saying holds that whoever does wrong must carry the consequences alone. The fault is pictured as resting against the wrongdoer's own body, close enough that he cannot shrug it off onto anyone else, and whatever harm follows will land on him.

It also works as a declaration of non-involvement. The speaker treats the offender's situation as entirely that person's own affair, refusing to share the burden, step in, or feel responsible for the outcome of choices someone else freely made.

When it is used

Say this when someone has brought trouble on himself and you decline to intervene or share the blame. It can sound dismissive or cold, so it suits distancing yourself from another's misdeed more than comforting the person who suffers its results.

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