«مَالْ تِجِيبُه الرِّيَاحْ تَاخْدُه الزَّوَابِعْ»

The saying holds that money arriving by improper or unearned routes will leave just as carelessly. Like something carried in on a breeze, such wealth has no firm anchor, and stronger gusts eventually sweep it off. Its point is the money's origin, not luck in general: the loss is presented as a consequence of how it was gained.

Beyond description, the proverb carries a moral warning. Gains lacking a rightful basis are seen as unstable, while properly earned wealth is implied to last. Applying it to honest earnings later lost misreads it.

Suitable when commenting on someone who loses or squanders dishonest gains or money obtained without rightful effort. It works as a pointed remark or a warning and implicitly criticizes how the fortune was obtained; it does not fit honest earnings that were later lost.