«اِلْمُوتْ الَاحْمَرْ عِشْرِةْ مِنْ لَا يْوَافْقَكْ وَلَا يْفَارْقَكْ»

The saying calls a situation the worst kind of suffering, using "red death," an Arabic intensifier for a brutal end, not a disease or English literary allusion. That situation is close association with someone you constantly clash with who will not leave. The phrasing exaggerates for effect: it describes how unbearable the bond feels, not a real danger to life.

It voices the frustration of being stuck with a difficult companion, relative, spouse, or associate; the word for companionship covers living together, marriage, partnership, and daily dealings, not only friendship. An incompatible person who stays close drains a person slowly. That lasting closeness without harmony is the burden the proverb calls deadly.

Fits a complaint about being tied to someone incompatible, such as a quarrelsome spouse, partner, relative, or coworker, when parting is not possible. It is said in frustration or as wry sympathy for another person's predicament. It is not suited to formal criticism.