Arabic proverbs

Who would dare tell the ghoul its eyes are red?

The saying describes a person whose strength and capacity for violence put them beyond criticism, picturing them as the ghoul, a man-eating creature of Arab folklore. The red eye stands for any flaw: everyone may notice it, but nobody is reckless enough to mention it, because the cost would fall on the speaker.

When luck is with you, even an ant can kill a snake.

The saying holds that fortune can overturn the ordinary order of strength. The ant stands for the weak and the snake for the strong: once luck turns in someone's favor, even the feeblest may defeat a far more dangerous rival, so success depends on fortune more than force.

We go by what we can see; what is hidden is God's to know.

Taken at face value, the saying draws a line between two kinds of knowledge. Whatever is outwardly evident falls within human reach and can guide how people respond, whereas whatever lies concealed is set apart as belonging to God rather than to human judgment.

Don't be won over by a low price, because you'll end up throwing half of it away.

The proverb cautions the listener not to be charmed by a low price. A cheap purchase may hide a flaw, and the buyer could end up discarding half of what was bought.

Keeping quiet when the truth needs speaking is as bad as speaking up for a lie.

The saying holds that staying silent when the truth or a just cause needs a voice is morally equal to openly arguing for falsehood. Silence here is not neutral, because it leaves the field to the wrong side and so effectively helps it win.

All a blind man longs for is a whole basket of eyes.

People set their hearts most firmly on the very thing they are missing. For someone without sight, no wish outranks seeing again, so his desire is pictured as eyes gathered up by the basketful.

A poor man's smell drives people away.

The proverb claims that poverty makes a person unwelcome. People pull away from the poor as if repelled by something unpleasant, and they treat them with dislike or contempt. The bad odor is a figure for that social aversion, not a physical description or a remark about hygiene.

If someone will not wait for you, make sure you arrive before they do.

The saying urges advance preparation when another person is unlikely to delay for you. Rather than counting on accommodation, one should act early enough to avoid missing an opportunity, appointment, or desired outcome.

Like a crow flaunting its defective eye.

The picture is of a crow strutting and preening while one of its eyes is visibly defective; the Arabic word may refer specifically to loss of sight in one eye. The bird treats the very thing that marks it as flawed as something to display, and the comparison invites laughter at that mismatch.

"Why is there a hole in the top of your cap?" "That's your excellent housekeeping at work, wife."

The saying stages a small domestic exchange. A wife jeers at her husband because his cap has been cut open at the crown, and he answers sarcastically that the damage is a fine product of her careful household management. The blame is quietly turned back on the one doing the mocking.

His hopes always fall through, and he has no skill to fall back on.

The saying paints a person who suffers a double misfortune: whatever they wish for never comes true, because fortune does not favor them, and they also lack skill or experience in any work that might earn them a living. The charge is inexperience, not general stupidity.

Brackish water and gloomy faces.

The saying pairs two unappealing things: water too salty to drink and faces that have lost their brightness, looking grim and heavy rather than openly angry. Together they picture a setting where nothing is refreshing or warm, and a person finds neither comfort nor good cheer.

They're like flies: they always crowd onto whoever is too weak to shoo them off.

The image is of flies, which settle in clusters on a creature too feeble to brush them off. Likewise, some people direct their harassment, demands, or injustice at those who lack the strength to resist, because the weakness of the target guarantees that they face no consequences.

Oh grapes, you're a far cry from the ones of al-Manawat!

The saying contrasts something mediocre at hand with a remembered standard of excellence. Al-Manawat is the name of a town once known for fine vineyards. By rhetorically asking the grapes in hand where al-Manawat is, the speaker scolds them for falling far short of the fruit that town was celebrated for.

A queasy man's gift is always a lemon.

What a person chooses to give reveals the giver's own condition and outlook. Someone who is sick to his stomach relies on lemon for relief, so when he wants to be generous he offers lemon too, assuming everyone shares his discomfort and his remedy. The point is projection, not stinginess or an unwelcome sour present.

Do not attack others when your own weaknesses leave you especially open to retaliation.

The proverb warns that someone in a vulnerable position should not initiate an attack, because retaliation may strike the very point at which that person is least able to withstand harm. Its image of a glass house is figurative, representing exposure rather than merely a personal flaw.

A man whose only aim is his belly is worth no more than what his belly passes.

The saying mocks a person whose whole drive in life is filling the stomach. Since such a person aims at nothing higher than food, the proverb bluntly rates him no better than the waste his body discards, implying that his worth is effectively nil.

I’d marry my paternal cousin, even if all I had for a blanket was my sleeve.

The speaker values marriage to a paternal cousin over material comfort. Covering herself with a sleeve pictures how little she would be willing to live with.

Every life leads, in the end, to death.

The saying presents death as the inevitable endpoint of life. It can prompt a sober reflection on mortality and the limits of human life.

You serve the Ghuzz, and they send you off with a beating.

The saying pictures someone giving their labor to others and receiving blows when that service ends. What should have been a moment of thanks becomes one of injury.

Harsh words end in blows.

Offensive words can escalate into a fight, which may then bring the quarrel to an end.

After all that piping, the last thing you hear is a toot.

An activity may come to an end without producing anything useful.

Do someone a kindness, and you may get a slap in return.

Someone who has done good is repaid with harm instead of gratitude.

The whole world lies open, but what you seek is beyond its reach.

The proverb describes a search that cannot succeed, however far it extends. The obstacle is not a lack of effort or places to look: the desired thing cannot be found.

This guest won’t be coming back.

A departing speaker presents themself as a guest whose face the others are seeing for the last time. The expression signals an intention to leave those people and never return.

I’ll stick around and see whether she really outdoes me.

The speaker refuses to take someone else’s supposed superiority on trust. She intends to be there when the other woman arrives and judge the comparison for herself.

Acting as though I know brings trouble; “I don’t know” gives me peace.

Claiming expertise can create expectations you cannot meet. A candid admission of ignorance may spare you embarrassment or an unwanted obligation.

A tray piled with bread may escape being raided, yet even a house crowded with soldiers cannot be counted on to escape death.

Death can come suddenly, and even a large group has no assurance of surviving it.

You would be safer trusting a wolf than a polished, ring-wearing person.

The saying presents a wolf as more worthy of trust than a person who displays a sign of refinement. Its deliberately startling comparison warns that a respectable appearance says little about someone’s honesty.

It’s only one night; morning will bring it to an end.

Whatever happens during a brief stretch can be faced with less worry when its end is already in sight.

So cold that even Tubah’s water would seem warm.

Emphasizes that a person or thing is exceptionally cold.

A thoroughly tiresome, cold person.

Describes someone whose manner is dull and unwelcoming, making them unpleasant company.

A needle cannot stitch with two threads through its eye.

The proverb pictures a task that cannot get under way because it depends on two people who may disagree. As the needle needs a single thread to sew, the task needs a clear way forward.

The pitcher broke, and its spout gives it away.

An obvious clue makes the answer clear without further investigation.

The fullest jug is the quietest.

People with little knowledge or ability may make the biggest claims, while those with genuine substance have less need to boast.

Take your time so you don’t slip up.

The saying advises the listener to slow down rather than risk getting something wrong. It names the fault it wants to prevent, an error, and it does not pretend that going slowly is free: it admits that taking longer has a cost and judges that cost to be the smaller one. Used in conversation, it turns a choice between speed and correctness into a clear priority, with correctness first.

• Compare: Someone is tempted to rush a task where a mistake would cost more than the time saved.

You think a splash of water will bother a water carrier?

An attempt to upset or harm someone is futile when it involves something they are already used to.

The devil keeps his own house standing.

The image casts a habitual wrongdoer as difficult to bring low. Even a severe blow that appears to end their run of harmful conduct may leave them standing.

While a person searches for a way out, God may already be arranging one.

The proverb contrasts a person's limited ability to think through a difficulty with God's power to shape what happens. Human uncertainty does not mean that events are beyond divine care.

The ruler’s protégé can be left like an orphan.

The “son” is someone whose position depends on a ruler’s favor rather than on his own ability. If that patron loses power, the dependent may lose the support that sustained him.

The scoundrel leaves nothing for the honest person.

Someone who acts without scruples takes everything worth pursuing, leaving little for someone who tries to do right.

The captain’s son adds nothing to the voyage but extra weight and another mouth to feed.

Someone who trades on a parent’s position while doing no useful work becomes a burden on the group.

A goldsmith’s son wants a ring his father could provide.

The father makes jewelry, so a ring is something he is well placed to provide. The son’s wish concerns an object he could obtain through his own family.

A gosling knows how to swim, too.

A child may excel at something their parents do well.

A life given only two days cannot be stretched into a third.

The proverb presents a person's lifespan as having a fixed limit. When that limit is reached, no wish or effort can add another day.

A child’s habits take shape through upbringing.

The proverb presents a child’s conduct as shaped by what they are taught and accustomed to. The habits encouraged during upbringing are likely to show in how the child behaves.

He goes looking for the son he is carrying on his shoulder.

A person may be so distracted that they overlook what they are trying to find, even when it is close by.

Someone with a thousand still envies someone with just a hundred.

Greed can lead a person who has more to covet what belongs to someone with less.

A man with daughters will have the means to care for them.

The saying reassures a father that he will be able to support his daughters, rather than treating their needs as a cause for despair.

Even a dung beetle is master of its own home.

Someone looked down on by others may still feel dignity and self-worth in their own space.