«لَاجْلِ الْوَرْدْ يِنْسِقِي الْعُلِّيقْ»

Someone of little standing receives care and generosity not on their own merit but because they are attached to a person who is valued. The kindness is really aimed at the esteemed one, and the lesser party simply benefits by being close by, much as a clinging weed drinks the water poured for a rose.

The picture turns on nearness: the climbing plant grows on and around the rose and shares its watered ground, so whatever water reaches the rose reaches it as well. Carried over to people, the saying marks the lesser party's good fortune as borrowed, flowing from another's worth rather than earned.

Use it when an unremarkable person enjoys attention, hospitality, or favors only because of a close tie to someone respected, such as a relative or companion of an honored guest. It carries a wry, slightly dismissive edge toward the one benefiting.