- English translation
You don't strike or shame the one who only brings the message.
- Literal wording
The messenger is not beaten and is not humiliated.
- Meaning and lesson
Whoever delivers a message on another person's behalf should not be punished or disgraced for what it says. The carrier acts under instruction, so fairness requires that any resentment be aimed at the sender, not at the one who merely passed the words along. The line states how a messenger ought to be treated, not what actually happens.
More broadly, the saying separates responsibility from mere transmission. It protects intermediaries, envoys, and errand-runners, insisting that bearing bad tidings or harsh terms is not a fault, and that treating the bearer roughly is an injustice rather than a fitting reply.
- When it is used
Fits moments when someone carrying unwelcome news, a demand, or a complaint on another's behalf is met with anger. A speaker can use it to shield the go-between, or the go-between can say it to remind listeners that blame belongs to whoever sent the message.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: You don't strike or shame the one who only brings the message.