«طُولْ مَا انْتَ طَيِّبْ تِكْتَرِ اصْحَابَكْ»

At its core this is a cynical remark about conditional friendship, not advice to cultivate friends. Here طيب refers to being in good health rather than to good character: a person who is fit and well finds company easily, yet much of the warmth on display is calculated, resting on what that healthy person can still offer.

The line also carries an implied reversal that it never states outright. Because health is cast as the real magnet, losing it would expose how thin those bonds were. The proverb therefore invites a sober distinction between genuine affection and self-interested attachment that lasts only while there is something to gain.

Suited to a rueful remark when a sick person finds that former companions have stopped coming around, or as a gentle reminder to someone enjoying wide popularity that such crowds may depend on staying well. It sounds wry rather than accusatory.