أمثال شعبية قديمة ومعانيها

رُبَّ ضارّةٍ نافعة

A harm may well turn out to be a benefit.

What looks like harm on its surface may carry a hidden benefit — the Arabic equivalent of “a blessing in disguise.” Said in consolation when an apparent setback turns out for the best.

A classical proverb recorded in al-Maydānī’s 12th-century compendium Majmaʿ al-Amthāl; its sense echoes Qurʾan 2:216.

مجمع الأمثال للميداني — Majmaʿ al-Amthāl · cf. Qurʾan 2:216

الصبرُ مفتاحُ الفرج

Patience is the key to relief.

Whoever endures hardship reaches relief — patience is the door through which the way out of difficulty opens. Said to steady someone whose trial has dragged on.

A famous Arabic saying whose sense is well supported by scripture on patience, but the phrase itself is a proverb — not an authenticated hadith, though often quoted as one.

اتَّقِ شرَّ مَن أحسنتَ إليه

Beware the harm of the one you have treated well.

Some repay kindness with harm — when the ignoble cannot return a favour, they may turn on their benefactor. A warning about ingratitude, not a counsel against doing good.

A widely circulated maxim whose attribution varies across sources; it runs as common proverbial tradition with no settled author.

لا تُؤخِّرْ عملَ اليومِ إلى الغد

Do not put off today’s work until tomorrow.

Finish what a day asks of you within that day rather than pushing it onto a tomorrow you cannot guarantee — procrastination piles work up and lets chances pass. Said in reproach of delay and in praise of starting now.

A widely used maxim against procrastination that circulates as common proverbial tradition with no named author; the English “never put off till tomorrow what you can do today” is a close parallel.

العقلُ زينةٌ والعلمُ سلاح

The intellect is an adornment and knowledge is a weapon.

Reason makes a person graceful among others, while learning equips and shields him when he needs it — together they complete him. Said to encourage the pursuit of knowledge and the use of one’s mind.

A saying in praise of reason and learning, with no named author.

الصديقُ وقتَ الضِّيق

A friend is for the time of hardship.

True friendship proves itself in hard times, not in easy ones — whoever stands by you in your straits is the real friend. Said when adversity tests friendships and sorts them out.

A classic proverb built on the rhyme between ṣadīq (friend) and ḍīq (hardship). It belongs to the common proverbial tradition with no named author, and has close parallels in many cultures — the English “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”

إذا كان الكلامُ من فضّةٍ فالسكوتُ من ذهب

If speech is silver, then silence is gold.

A well-judged word is valuable, but silence in its right place is worth more — many a remark caused harm that saying nothing would have spared. Said in praise of holding back speech where speaking serves no purpose.

A maxim shared across cultures. Some Arabic sources associate it with al-Jāḥiẓ (9th c.), but the ascription is not firmly established; an Aramaic parallel appears in the Talmud, and the European form was popularized in English by Thomas Carlyle in the 1830s.

العدلُ أساسُ المُلك

Justice is the foundation of rule.

Rule endures through justice and comes apart through injustice — fairness is a foundation, not a decoration. Said of statecraft and of a ruler’s duty to deal equitably.

A famous Arabic-Islamic maxim of statecraft that circulates as a proverb and is a recurring theme of the “mirrors for princes” literature (adab sulṭānī). It is neither a Qurʾanic verse nor a prophetic hadith, though its meaning is rooted in the Islamic emphasis on justice and echoes Ibn Khaldūn’s argument that injustice heralds the ruin of civilization.

مَن جَدَّ وَجَد

Whoever strives, finds.

Whoever puts in real effort attains what he seeks — the harvest matches the labour. Said to urge hard work, and among the first maxims Arab children are taught.

A classic educational proverb built on the chime between jadda (strives) and wajada (finds). It belongs to the proverbial tradition with no single named author and is usually paired with “whoever walks the path arrives.”

الوقتُ كالسيف، إن لم تَقطعْه قَطَعَك

Time is like a sword: if you do not cut it, it cuts you.

Time never stops: either you turn it to your benefit or your idleness in it destroys you — like a sword, there is no middle ground between cutting and being cut. Said about seizing one’s life rather than squandering it.

A maxim on seizing time, most often attributed to Imam al-Shāfiʿī and cited in this sense by Ibn al-Qayyim; the ascription is debated and it is not a prophetic hadith. The wording reported from him is “Time is a sword — cut it, or it cuts you.”

العينُ بصيرةٌ واليدُ قصيرة

The eye sees, but the hand is short.

A person sees what he longs for and knows what ought to be done, then lacks the means to reach it. Said of the frustration of aspiring to what one cannot afford or achieve.

A well-known proverb from the inherited Arabic tradition, with no identifiable author.

اسألْ مُجرِّباً ولا تسألْ حكيماً

Ask someone who has tried it, not someone who is merely learned.

Someone who has lived through a matter knows details that theory alone never reaches, so consult those with experience of it. Said in favour of practical experience over abstract learning.

A popular proverb current in spoken Arabic across the Arab world; folk wisdom with no named author. Ḥakīm here carries two readings — a learned man, and a physician (the ordinary sense of ḥakīm in much Arabic usage) — so it can also mean: ask someone who has lived through the illness, not someone who has only read about it.

مَن سار على الدربِ وصل

Whoever keeps to the road arrives.

Persisting on the right road brings you to the destination even if it takes longer — what counts is continuing, not speed. Said to encourage someone who has grown weary of a long effort.

A proverb of perseverance from the common tradition with no named author; its familiar companion is “whoever strives, finds.”

جارٌ قريبٌ خيرٌ من أخٍ بعيد

A near neighbour is better than a distant brother.

Someone close at hand when you need help is of more use than a relative too far away to reach you. Said about the value of nearness and presence — not to belittle the claims of kinship.

A proverb on the value of nearness. Its commonest Arabic form speaks of a near neighbour over a distant brother; it also circulates with “friend” in place of “neighbour,” which shifts it from closeness of dwelling to closeness of companionship. The sentiment is widely shared — the biblical book of Proverbs (27:10) carries the same idea — so it belongs to common proverbial wisdom rather than to one source.

لكلِّ جوادٍ كَبْوة

Every fine steed has its stumble.

Even the accomplished and gifted trip once — a passing lapse does not cancel a strong record. Said in making allowance for a capable person who has slipped, and against judging anyone by a single fall.

An old Arabic proverb from the common tradition, frequently quoted with its continuation, “and every keen blade has its miss.”

خيرُ الكلامِ ما قلَّ ودلّ

The best speech is what is few in words and clear in sense.

The best expression packs much meaning into few words; padding buries the point and tires the listener. Said in praise of eloquent concision and in reproach of verbosity.

A maxim from the common Arabic tradition praising concision. It is not traceable to a named author, and it is not a prophetic hadith.

مَن حَفَرَ حُفرةً لأخيه وقع فيها

Whoever digs a pit for his brother falls into it himself.

Whoever plots a trap for another ends up caught in it — scheming rebounds on the schemer. Said as a warning against treachery, and as reassurance to the wronged that a plotter meets his own device.

A common proverb, not a prophetic hadith. Its sense is close to the Qurʾanic statement that “evil plotting befalls only its own authors” (Qurʾan 35:43).

القناعةُ كنزٌ لا يَفنى

Contentment is a treasure that never runs out.

Whoever is satisfied with his portion is already rich — wealth is contentment of soul rather than abundance of money, and it is a store that never empties. Said in praise of being satisfied and against greed.

A famous saying in praise of contentment whose attribution varies across sources, so it runs as common proverbial tradition. It is not an authenticated hadith, although it is often passed around as one.

مَن شَبَّ على شيءٍ شابَ عليه

Whoever grows up with something grows old with it.

What a person becomes used to in youth is hard to leave behind in age — habit hardens into nature. Said of how deeply habits take root, and of how much what is planted early matters.

An old Arabic proverb from the common tradition, with no identifiable author.

السكوتُ علامةُ الرِّضا

Silence is a sign of consent.

When someone is asked about a matter and neither objects nor speaks, custom reads that silence as agreement. Said when a lack of objection is taken for acceptance — and a reminder that saying nothing is itself a position.

A common proverb with no named author. In Islamic law silence does count as consent, but only in defined cases rather than as a general rule — a virgin bride’s silence at being asked is the classic instance — and the maxim “silence where clarification is needed counts as clarification” is balanced by its limiter, “no statement is attributed to one who stays silent.”

آفةُ العلمِ النِّسيان

The blight of knowledge is forgetting.

Knowledge withers through neglect as an unwatered crop does — whatever is not revisited and used is lost to its owner. Said to urge keeping what one has learned alive by review and by teaching it on.

A maxim from the common Arabic tradition of sayings about learning, with no named author.

الجارَ قبل الدارِ

Choose the neighbour before the house.

Ask about the neighbours before you buy a place or move into it — a bad neighbour spoils the finest house. Said of weighing company and surroundings ahead of the property itself.

A common Arabic proverb about choosing one’s neighbours, frequently quoted alongside “the companion before the road.”

امشِ شهراً ولا تَعبُرْ نهراً

Walk a month rather than cross a river.

Take the long safe road over the short dangerous one — safety is worth the time and effort it costs. Said in favour of caution and against taking a risk you do not need to take.

A common Arabic proverb about caution, with no identifiable author.

أوّلُ الغيثِ قَطْرة

The first of the rain is a single drop.

A small beginning can be the opening of much more to come, just as the first drop announces heavy rain. Usually said in encouragement — what has appeared so far is a little of a great deal on the way — but it is used ominously too: this is only the start, and more follows.

An old Arabic proverb from the common tradition, not attributed to any named author.

خيرُ جليسٍ في الزمانِ كتاب

The best of companions in all time is a book.

No companion is more rewarding than a book: it does not tire of you or betray you, and it never stops giving. Quoted in praise of reading, and of the company of books over much human company.

The second half of a famous line by Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Mutanabbī (10th c.): “The noblest place in the world is the saddle of a swift horse / and the best of companions in all time is a book.” The hemistich itself opens with the conjunction wa-, which drops away when it is quoted as a proverb. It is attributable verse, not an anonymous proverb, though it has long circulated as one.

ديوان المتنبّي — Dīwān al-Mutanabbī

جَزاءُ سِنِمّار

The reward of Sinimmār.

Said of someone repaid for his good work with the ugliest recompense. In Arab lore Sinimmār was the builder who raised a palace for al-Nuʿmān and was thrown from its top so he could never build its like for anyone else. Used of rank ingratitude — kindness answered with injury.

An old Arabic proverb built on a story preserved in the lore and proverb literature; the details of the tale vary between sources, while the proverb itself is long-established.

اللي يبغى العسل يصبر على قرص النحل

Whoever wants the honey must put up with the bees’ stings.

Whoever wants something good must bear the hardship that comes with it — what is desirable is never had for free. Said to urge patience with the cost of reaching a goal.

A folk proverb current in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, with close variants in other Arab countries.

الجود من الموجود

Generosity comes out of what one has.

Generosity is measured by giving what you actually have rather than by how much you give — someone who offers out of little has been generous. Said in apology for a modest table, and in praise of a host who gives according to his means.

A folk proverb current in Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf, and in circulation throughout the rest of the Arab world.

مد رجولك على قد لحافك

Stretch your legs only as far as your blanket reaches.

Spend and act within the limits of what you actually have; do not take on what your means cannot carry, because overreaching exposes the person who does it. Said to urge thrift and a clear sense of one’s own limits.

A folk proverb current throughout the Arab world, each country having its own wording; this is the form used in Najd and the Gulf.

كثر الدق يفك اللحام

Enough hammering will break the weld.

Repeated pressure wears down even the firmest position: what one blow cannot achieve, many blows can. Said of the power of persistence — and also as a warning that constant nagging pulls apart even a solid bond.

A folk proverb current in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, and in circulation elsewhere in the Arab world too.

الجمل ما يشوف عوجة رقبته

The camel cannot see the crookedness of its own neck.

People see the flaws of others and stay blind to their own, like a camel that never sees the bend in its own neck. Said of someone who faults everyone else while carrying plenty of faults himself.

A folk proverb current in the UAE and the Gulf, and in circulation elsewhere in the Arab world too; it is also told with baʿīr in place of jamal — both words for camel.

تحت السواهي دواهي

Beneath the seemingly heedless lie calamities.

What looks calm and untroubled on the surface may be hiding something serious underneath, so no one should be lulled by appearances. Said as a warning against trusting the surface of things, and of a person who seems oblivious while quietly scheming.

A folk proverb current in the UAE and the Gulf, and in circulation elsewhere in the Arab world too.

من فات قديمه تاه

Whoever leaves his past behind loses his way.

Whoever discards his origins and inherited ways loses the reference point that guides him — the present is built on what came before. Said about holding on to one’s roots and sound customs rather than cutting loose from them.

A folk proverb current in the UAE and the Gulf.

اللي ما له كبير يشتري له كبير

Whoever has no elder should buy himself one.

A person’s affairs do not hold together without an elder to turn to when matters get difficult and to mediate between him and others; whoever has none should find himself one. Said about the worth of an elder’s counsel and the need for someone to refer to.

A folk proverb current in the UAE and the Gulf.

اللي ما يعرف الصقر يشويه

Whoever does not know what a falcon is will grill it.

Someone ignorant of a thing’s value degrades it and puts it to the wrong use: a man who does not know the falcon and its standing treats it as a bird for the pot. Said of the ignorant mishandling what is precious, and of a person who fails to appreciate who is in front of him.

One of the best-known folk proverbs in circulation across the Gulf. More than one Gulf country claims it as its own, and we do not favour any single attribution.

إذا طاح الجمل كثرت سكاكينه

When the camel falls, the knives around it multiply.

When the strong weaken or a person of standing falls, everyone who wants a piece of him crowds in. Said of how people abandon the fallen and race for whatever is left of him.

A folk proverb current in the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula; it is also told with waqaʿa (“fell”) in place of the colloquial ṭāḥa.

سمّن كلبك ياكلك

Fatten your dog and it will eat you.

Some people answer kindness with betrayal: they grow strong on what you gave them, then turn on you. Said of rank ingratitude, and as a warning against strengthening anyone who will not remember the hand that fed him.

A folk proverb current in the Gulf and, in close variants, elsewhere in the Arab world.

أطعم الفم تستحي العين

Feed the mouth and the eye grows bashful.

Someone who has eaten at your table and received from your hand is ashamed to face you with harm or to deny your favour — kindness breeds reticence. Said of how generosity wins people over, and said in astonishment when it fails to and the recipient denies what he was given.

A folk proverb current in the Gulf and known throughout the Arab world.

علمناه على الشحاذة سبقنا على الأبواب

We taught him to beg and he got to the doors before us.

Someone may learn from you, then forget what he owes you, crowd you out of your own livelihood and get there ahead of you. Said of ingratitude and of a pupil turning on his teacher — with a sharp comic sting.

A folk proverb current in the Gulf and elsewhere in the Arab world.

أكبر منك بيوم أعرف منك بسنة

One day older than you, a year wiser than you.

A slight head start in years yields a great deal of experience: whoever came before you, even by a day, has seen what you have not. Said to urge listening to someone older than you, even if only a little older.

A folk proverb current in Iraq, with close variants in other Arab countries.

الديك الفصيح من البيضة يصيح

The eloquent cockerel crows from inside the egg.

Real ability shows itself early: whoever has something in him gives a sign of it from childhood. Said in praise of someone whose gifts appeared ahead of time.

A folk proverb current in Iraq and elsewhere in the Arab world.

الحرّة تغزل برجل حمارة

A freeborn woman will spin even with a donkey’s leg.

A person of resolve gets the work done with whatever tools come to hand, however poor — a shortage of means does not stop them. Said in praise of someone self-reliant who makes something out of very little.

An inherited folk proverb, told in close variants in more than one Arab country; we do not favour attributing it to any single one.

كمُجيرِ أمِّ عامر

Like the man who gave refuge to Umm ʿĀmir.

Said of a man who was good to someone undeserving and was repaid with injury. Umm ʿĀmir is the Arabs’ byname for the hyena, and the story tells of a man who sheltered one from hunters and gave it water, whereupon it turned on him. Used of ingratitude — a favour answered with treachery.

An old Arabic proverb resting on a story recorded in the proverb literature; its details differ between tellings, while the proverb itself is long-established.

اللي يتلسع من الشوربة ينفخ في الزبادي

Whoever gets scalded by the soup blows on the yoghurt.

Someone once hurt starts guarding against things that cannot hurt him at all — a bitter experience turns into over-caution. Said of what a harsh experience does to a person, and in gentle mockery of anyone who is over-careful.

A folk proverb current in Egypt; it is also told in the past tense, “whoever got scalded by the soup.”

يا واخد القرد على ماله يروح المال ويقعد القرد على حاله

You who took the monkey for his money — the money goes and the monkey stays just as he was.

Whoever chooses a partner for his money alone may see the money go and be left with everything he disliked about him. Said in reproach of choosing a spouse or an associate for wealth rather than character — and it is usually said mockingly.

A folk proverb current in Egypt; its second half is also told as “and the monkey stays on as he is.”

باب النجار مخلَّع

The carpenter’s own door is off its hinges.

A craftsman may neglect his own affairs while doing the same work perfectly for others, so the carpenter’s door ends up the one most in need of repair. Said of someone who falls short at home, in the very thing he is best able to do.

A folk proverb current in Egypt, and in circulation elsewhere in the Arab world too.

الغايب حجته معاه

Whoever is absent has his excuse with him.

Do not judge someone who is absent before you have heard from him — his absence may have a reason you know nothing about. Said in making allowance for the absent, and against rushing to blame them.

A proverb current across the Arab world; it is also said in Modern Standard Arabic, and this is the colloquial form used in Egypt.

التلم الأعوج من الثور الكبير

The crooked furrow comes from the big ox.

When a group’s affairs go wrong, look at whoever leads it: a fault at the top shows up in everything beneath it. The image is usually explained from ploughing — pair a large ox with a smaller one and it drags the plough its own way, so the furrow comes out crooked. Said in placing responsibility where the decisions are.

A rural folk proverb current in the Levant. It is transmitted with al-thalm or al-khaṭṭ in place of al-talm, and it is in circulation elsewhere in the Arab world too.

خبّي قرشك الأبيض ليومك الأسود

Put your white coin away for your black day.

Save something out of your plenty for your hard times: what you set aside today spares you need tomorrow. Said to urge thrift, and against spending freely merely because money happens to be available.

A folk proverb current in the Levant and known throughout the Arab world in close variants such as “keep your white coin for your black day.”

ابعد عن الشر وغنّي له

Keep away from trouble — and sing to it.

It is not enough to refrain from trouble — get far enough from it to be at ease. Said to urge avoiding quarrels and troublesome situations altogether, and there is a well-liked wryness in how it is put.

A folk proverb current in the Levant, and in circulation throughout the rest of the Arab world.

اللي ما عندو الفلوس كلامو مسوس

Whoever has no money, his words have no savour.

Many people weigh what is said by what its speaker owns, so a poor man’s view goes unheeded however right it is. Said in reproach of measuring a statement by the speaker’s wealth instead of by its truth.

A Moroccan folk proverb current in colloquial Darija.

ما يبقى في الواد غير حجارو

Nothing stays in the riverbed but its stones.

A flood carries off whatever is light and leaves what is firmly set; in the same way passing things go and what is solid stays. Said of how the genuine turns out to be whatever is still standing once everything has settled.

A folk proverb current in colloquial Darija in Algeria; elsewhere it circulates in a wording closer to Modern Standard Arabic.

قلب البرمة على فمها تطلع البنت لمها

Turn the pot over on its mouth — the daughter comes out like her mother.

A daughter resembles her mother in temper and in conduct, so whoever wants to know the girl looks at the mother. Said of how character and habits pass down inside a household — in praise or as a caution, depending on the case.

A Moroccan folk proverb current in Darija. The same idea runs through the Arab world in wordings that differ mainly in which cooking vessel is named — a jar in one telling, a cooking pot in another.

امدح صاحبك مع الناس ولومو الراس في الراس

Praise your friend in front of people and reproach him face to face.

Speak well of your friend in company, and take a grievance up with him only when the two of you are alone — reproach in front of others wounds instead of correcting. Said about the manners of giving advice and about guarding a friend’s dignity.

A Moroccan folk proverb current in Darija; the closing phrase is also written with a slightly different spelling.

الدنيا دراعة كل واحد كيلبسها ساعة

The world is a robe — each person wears it for an hour.

The world stays with no one: each takes his share of it for a short while and then leaves it to whoever comes next. Said of how transient it is and how circumstances turn, and to take the edge off whatever people compete over in it.

A Moroccan folk proverb current in colloquial Darija.

يأكل الغلة ويسبّ الملة

He eats the harvest and curses the community.

Said of someone who lives off the good of a people, a country or a household and then denies what he owes them and speaks ill of them. Used of ingratitude — a favour answered with abuse.

A common proverb current in Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and elsewhere in the Arab world, so we do not assign it to one country. It is also told in the plural, and in colloquial pronunciation.

أُعلِّمه الرمايةَ كلَّ يومٍ فلمّا اشتدَّ ساعدُه رماني

I taught him archery day after day, and when his arm grew strong he shot me.

Said of someone who learned from a benefactor and then turned what he learned against him. Used of ingratitude — teaching and upbringing repaid with betrayal.

A line of old Arabic verse that has long circulated as a proverb. The lines are attributed to Maʿn ibn Aws al-Muzanī, and also to Mālik ibn Fahm al-Azdī, so the ascription is disputed. The first half is transmitted with istadda as well as ishtadda, and the poem continues: “and how often I taught him to string rhymes — and once he managed one, he lampooned me.”

ومَن يَجعَلِ المعروفَ في غيرِ أهلِهِ يكنْ حَمدُهُ ذمّاً عليه ويَندَمِ

Whoever places a kindness where it does not belong will find his praise turned to blame — and will regret it.

Whoever does good to someone undeserving of it meets not thanks but disparagement, and is left regretting a kindness put in the wrong place. Said of ingratitude, and of the need to consider who a favour is being placed with.

Attributed to Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā, but the commentaries and recensions disagree over the wording of the line at this point in the Muʿallaqa: al-Zawzānī’s commentary on the Muʿallaqāt fills the slot, among Zuhayr’s own run of maxims, with «ومن يجعل المعروف من دون عرضه / يفره ومن لا يتق الشتم يشتم», while other references carry the popular «في غير أهله» line there instead. It also circulates with yaṣnaʿi (“does”) in place of yajʿali (“places”). We record the disagreement rather than affirming either wording as the text of the Muʿallaqa.

إذا أنتَ أكرمتَ الكريمَ ملكتَه وإن أنتَ أكرمتَ اللئيمَ تمرَّدا

Honour a noble man and you have won him; honour a base one and he turns insolent.

Kindness draws out the heart of a noble man and he becomes yours; a base one reads the same kindness the wrong way, denies it, and only grows more overbearing. Said of ingratitude, and of matching a favour to the person it is placed with.

A line by Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Mutanabbī (10th c.) from his poem “every man has of his age whatever he grew used to,” long since circulating as a proverb. The line that follows it runs: “placing bounty where the sword belongs harms high standing, as does placing the sword where bounty belongs.” It is attributable verse, not an anonymous proverb.

ديوان المتنبّي — Dīwān al-Mutanabbī