«حُمَارْ مَا هُو لَكْ عَافِيتُهْ حَدِيدْ»

The saying exposes a common failing: people spare what they own and exhaust what they merely borrow. Here عافية means strength or stamina, not health. Because the cost of damage falls on the owner, the user imagines another's donkey is made of iron and drives it without mercy or restraint.

The comparison criticizes careless use of someone else's property, not the animal or its owner. Because any loss falls on the owner, the borrower treats the donkey as indestructible. It reminds listeners that a thing should be handled carefully even when they will not personally bear the cost of damage.

Use it to reproach someone who overloads, overworks, or carelessly handles a borrowed animal, tool, vehicle, or other property, acting as if it could never wear out simply because the loss would fall on someone else.