«فَخْرِ الْمَرْء بِفَضْلُهْ أَوْلَى مِنْ فَخْرُه بْأَصْلُهْ»

The saying ranks two kinds of pride and declares one more fitting. Being proud of one's own merit, which may mean virtue, excellence or generosity, is treated as legitimate, because it is earned through personal effort and character rather than handed down by birth. The person meant is any human being, not only men.

By contrast, boasting of noble descent or a distinguished family is presented as the weaker claim to honor. Ancestry alone proves nothing about the individual, so the proverb quietly rebukes those who lean on lineage. In Arabic, the rhyming words for merit and origin give it a balanced shape.

Suited to moments when someone boasts of family name, tribe or ancestry, or when a person of modest background is dismissed. It nudges the listener to judge people, and themselves, by conduct and accomplishment instead of inherited standing.