«مَا جَمَعْ إِلَّا لَمَّا وَفَّقْ»

The saying holds that people are not brought together by chance. God, the unstated subject, is imagined as first matching their temperaments and only then letting them join, so any close association reveals an underlying likeness.

Though it can describe any well-matched pair or group, in practice the remark is mostly sarcastic. Speakers use it to note that companions, spouses, or partners share the same unpleasant character, suggesting that their poor qualities are exactly what made them fit together so neatly.

Say this wryly about two people or a group who keep company and turn out to be alike, especially when both show the same flaws, such as a quarrelsome couple or partners in mischief. It can sound mildly insulting to those described.