- English translation
You who chase after looks, your hopes will come to nothing.
- Literal wording
O follower of the figure, O one of thwarted hope.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying addresses anyone led along by outward form alone; here الزول means the figure or bodily appearance seen at a glance. It tells them such pursuit ends in let-down: looks promise much, but the hopes placed on them are likely to come to nothing.
As practical counsel, it urges people to weigh character, substance, and conduct before trusting or committing. The two parallel vocatives, each opening with يا, give the line a reproachful, almost chanting rhythm, and the second states the result of the first: following the outward form ends in disappointed hope.
- When it is used
Suitable as a wry warning to someone drawn to a person, offer, or thing purely by its handsome look, or as a rueful remark after such an attraction has proved hollow. It reproaches the misjudgment itself rather than insulting the person who made it.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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