- English translation
No sooner is one source of livelihood cut off than another is opened up.
- Literal wording
Before he cuts off here, he joins on here.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying expresses confidence that a person's means of living are never simply cut off. Its actor is left unstated, but the traditional reading takes God as the one who provides: whenever one source of sustenance is withdrawn from one direction, another reaches the person from a different direction.
In practice it works as comfort and as a call to patience. Rather than despairing over a loss, the listener is urged to trust that provision shifts its channel instead of vanishing, so the setback is only part of the picture.
- When it is used
Suited to moments of consolation, when someone has lost a job, a customer, or another source of income and needs reassurance that support will arrive from somewhere else. It carries a tone of trust in providence and fits best among speakers who share that outlook.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: No sooner is one source of livelihood cut off than another is opened up.