«مِنْ عَاشِرِ الْمَتْهُومْ يِنْتِهِمْ»

The saying holds that a person's standing is shaped by the company they keep. Whoever spends time with someone already viewed with suspicion will come under suspicion too, even without having done anything wrong. It concerns suspicion and reputation, not proven wrongdoing.

Its practical point is protective advice: the surest way to keep one's reputation clear is to stay away from people under a cloud. It treats such distance as prudence rather than unkindness.

Use it to caution someone against spending time with a person already under a cloud, stressing that their own name will suffer by the closeness, whatever their actual conduct.