Arabic proverbs

When the table is full of different dishes, the neighbors have lent a hand.

An abundance beyond someone’s means may be possible because others have helped provide it.

Keep a donkey beside another, and sooner or later it will sound like its neighbor.

People tend to pick up habits from those they spend time with, even if they do not become alike in every way.

Tether the donkey where its owner wants it.

When handling something that belongs to someone else, follow the owner’s instructions rather than making the decision yourself. That way, if something goes wrong, the choice was not yours.

Stay away when someone else’s grain is being measured; you may end up with dust in your beard and the work of hauling it.

Getting involved in a matter in which you have no stake may bring you effort and trouble without any benefit.

A bribe can make your troubles go away.

The proverb observes that bribery can overcome obstacles and get people what they want; it does not urge them to pay bribes.

Fight someone on their own ground, and the people there may fight with them.

In a conflict, a person has an advantage in their own area because people there may come to their aid.

Farming takes more than wanting to plant; it takes grueling work.

Wanting to cultivate land is not enough. Farming demands strenuous physical effort.

If a monkey is in charge, play along while his power lasts.

When you must deal with someone in power, it may be prudent to accommodate that person’s wishes, even if you think little of them.

Ride a bachelor’s donkey and bring up marriage.

You are more likely to get what you want from someone if you speak to their interests.

Let a rooster lead the way, and you will end up where it wants to go.

A guide is likely to lead others toward their own familiar goals, so choose whom you follow carefully.

“Come on, Abu al-Rish, ride!” “I would, if there were even a nag left for me.”

The proverb highlights the futility of telling someone to act when the basic means of doing so are unavailable.

Toss him into the sea and he’ll surface with a fish to show for it.

An eager opportunist finds a way to gain something from almost any situation.

Even if you toss it onto a roof, you will not lose what is allotted to you.

The image of throwing something onto a roof makes a careless act the test: can someone lose a share that has already been allotted to them? The proverb answers no.

Care for someone, and they may turn around and bring you down.

Someone who benefits from your kindness may answer it with harm rather than gratitude.

Keep planting if you want to keep eating.

Regular effort provides a continuing livelihood.

Ask around before joining a family through marriage, and you’ll learn who is a good fit and who isn’t.

Find out about people before forming a close tie with them, so you can make a sound choice.

Seek advice from someone who has been through it rather than from a physician.

Personal experience can be especially valuable when someone needs practical guidance, even when an expert is available.

Ask him about his father, and he gives you his uncle’s name instead: Shuayb.

Someone answers a question with information about a different subject.

Keep your questions to your own affairs.

Concern yourself with matters that involve you rather than prying into matters that do not.

Show others warmth, and they are likely to warm to you.

Friendliness encourages a friendly response.

Put up with the fart rather than the howling.

When two unpleasant outcomes cannot both be avoided, tolerate the less troublesome one.

Listen, then put the words aside.

The saying pictures speech passing through a listener without being kept or given further thought. Hearing something does not mean it deserves continued attention.

His name suggests a fine fragrance, but his work emptying latrines takes the shine off it.

An appealing quality can be overshadowed by an unappealing one in the same person.

Tuba is named, but Amshir is the one at work.

The saying describes a mismatch between who is associated with something and who actually does it. A familiar name may draw attention even when the work belongs to someone else.

Those who care about me and my children are the people I hold in the highest esteem.

Deep respect is owed to people who take your family’s troubles to heart and offer care.

He buys a dirham’s worth of dates and acts as though the neighborhood’s palm trees belong to him.

Someone uses a small possession or purchase to justify a much larger claim.

Check who your neighbors will be before you buy a home.

A home’s value depends partly on the people living nearby, so consider the neighbors as well as the property.