«اِلْكَارْ مِحْنَهْ»

The saying treats a person's craft or skilled line of work, not buying and selling, as a trial they cannot escape. Whoever takes it up comes to love it so deeply that walking away becomes impossible, so the attachment itself, rather than the labour's difficulty, is the burden.

Its tone is rueful yet fond rather than a complaint about hard work or poor pay: the speaker admits that the work holds them captive, yet the captivity springs from devotion rather than force, making the trade both a passion and a bond.

Fits remarks about someone who keeps returning to their craft despite fatigue or plans to retire, such as an old artisan who cannot stop working. It can be said wryly by the craftsperson about themselves or affectionately about another.