«يَا مْدَارِي عْمَاصِ النَّاسْ دَارِي عْمَاصَكْ»

The saying addresses someone who takes it upon themselves to hide the small embarrassing flaws of others, pictured as the whitish crust that gathers in the inner corner of the eye. It tells that person to first cover and hide their own flaws before concealing anyone else's.

The underlying lesson is that attending to one's own shortcomings comes before managing other people's. The saying favors concealment, not exposing or pointing out others' flaws. The Arabic echoes the same verb root, mdari and dari, meaning to cover, and repeats the noun for eye-crust, so the second half mirrors the first.

Suitable when someone busies themselves with hiding or smoothing over other people's embarrassments while plainly neglecting their own. It gently redirects that person's attention to their own shortcomings, and may sound pointed if said directly to them.