Arabic Proverbs

Three dog proverbs:
🐕‍🦺🐕

Egyptian:
"When the dogs bark no one replies to them."

لما الكلاب بتهوهو ما حدش يرد عليهم

Lamma el-kilāb bi-thawhaw ma-ḥaddish yirudd ʿalayhum

Don't demean yourself by responding to low insults.

~"Don't wrestle with a pig; you both get dirty, but the pig likes it."

Transliteration:

inna s-salāmata minhā tarku mā fīhā

٢٨ - إِنَّ السَّلَامَةَ مِنْهَا تَرْكُ مَا فِيهَا ​قِيلَ : إِنَّ المَثَلَ فِي أَمْرِ اللُّقَطَةِ تُوجَدُ ، وَقِيلَ : إِنَّهُ فِي ذَمِّ الدُّنْيَا وَالحَثِّ عَلَى تَرْكِهَا ، وَهَذَا فِي بَيْتٍ أَوَّلُهُ : وَالنَّفْسُ تَكَلَّفُ بِالدُّنْيَا وَقَدْ عَلِمَتْ أَنَّ السَّلَامَةَ مِنْهَا تَرْكُ مَا فِيهَا

No. 28

"To stay on the safe side it's best left alone."

There are two readings al-Maydānī offers.

1. It refers to finding lost property.
2. It refers to the things of this world as in the verse:

The soul loves this world knowing full well
to be on the safe side it's best left alone.

47 اطقَع بالمسجد يشيع ذكرك 'eṭga' bal-masyad yešī' ḏetsrek "Break wind in the mosque and you will be famous [since many people will hear about it]." This is said of one who is eager to gain a reputation even if it is a bad one.

"Fart in the mosque and you will be famous."

This is said of one who is eager to gain a reputation even if it is a bad one.

It would be nice if that were true.

​٢٧- إنَّ الْمَقْدِرَةَ تُذْهِبُ الْحَفِيظَةَ الْمَقْدِرَةُ(١) وَالْمَقْدَرَةُ : الْقُدْرَةُ ، وَالْحَفِيظَةُ : الْغَضَبُ . قَالَ أَبُو عُبَيْدٍ : بَلَغَنَا هَذَا الْمَثَلُ عَنْ رَجُلٍ عَظِيمٍ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ فِي سَالِفِ الدَّهْرِ كَانَ يَطْلُبُ رَجُلًا بِذَحْلٍ(٢) فَلَمَّا ظَفَرَ بِهِ قَالَ : لَوْلَا أَنَّ الْمَقْدِرَةَ تُذْهِبُ الْحَفِيظَةَ لَانْتَقَمْتُ مِنْكَ ، ثُمَّ تَرَكَهُ .

No. 27

"Power [over another] dispels the desire for vengeance."

inna al-maqdirata tudhhibu l-ḥafīẓa

Once upon a time a prominent man of Quraysh sought revenge against another man but once he had him in his power he quoted this proverb and released him.

b. Al-Maydānī says the proverb would make more sense if we read miʿrāḍ as "hint", so the meaning would then be that one may insinuate that something is the case without outright lies.

Hans Wehr entries (m. معراض miʿrāḍ: قال في معراض كلامه qāla fī miʿrāḍi kalāmihī) to mention casually, say among other things ​تعريض taʿrīḍ intimation, allusion, hint, indication

Depending on how one reads the word miʿrāḍ (pl. maʿārīḍi) this either means that:

a. In the normal course of speech you can avoid subjects you might feel compelled to lie about. This follows the usual sense of miʿrāḍ.

٢٦ - إِنَّ فِي الْمَعَارِيضِ لَمَنْدُوحَةً عَنِ الْكَذِبِ . ​هذا من كلام عِمْرَان بن حصين . والمعاريض : جمع المِعْرَاض ، يقال : عرفتُ ذلك في مِعْرَاض كلامه ، أي في فَحْوَاه . قلتُ : أجودُ من هذا أن يقال : التعرِيض ضدُّ التصريح ، وهو أن يُلْغِزَ كلامه عن الظاهر ، فكلامه مَعْرِض ، والمعاريض جمعه . ثم لك أن تُثبت الياء وتحذفها ، والمَنْدُوحَة : السَّعَة ، وكذلك النُّدْحَة ، يقال : إن في كذا نُدْحَةً : أي سَعَة وفُسْحَة . يضرب لمن يحسب أنه مضطر إلى الكذب .

No. 26

"In the course of speaking there are opportunities to avoid lying."

inna fī l-maʿārīḍi la-mandūḥatan ʿani l-kadhib

This contradicts those who claim it is sometimes necessary to lie.

Egyptian Arabic proverb of the day:

"Idle hands are ritually impure."

~ Idle hands are the devil's plaything.

الايد البطلانة نجسة
el-ʾīd el-baṭlāna nigsa

We all know that one person (or camel, as the case may be…).

A variation in Moroccan Darija:

lli ma kay yǝfhǝm b-lɣǝmzaʰ yǝfhǝm b ḍḍǝṛbaʰ

اللي ما كاي يفهم ب الغمزة يفهم ب الضربة

(he who does not get the wink gets the stick)

I assume there's many a hint I haven't taken but since I didn't take it I'll never know.

Lisān passage وحى * الوَحْيُ : الإِشَارَةُ وَالكِتَابَةُ وَالرِّسَالَةُ وَالإِلْهَامُ وَالكَلَامُ الخَفِيُّ وَكُلُّ مَا أَلْقَيْتَهُ إِلَى غَيْرِكَ. يُقَالُ : وَحَيْتُ إِلَيْهِ الكَلَامَ وَأَوْحَيْتُ

Anyone who deals with Islamic texts will recognize al-waḥy as meaning prophetic inspiration or revelation. The sense of an intimation or suggestion is preserved in MSA Form IV īḥāʾ but another classical meaning of form I is to indicate, hint, etc

٢٥ - إنَّ مَن لا يَعرِفُ الوَحى أحمَقُ، ويَروى: الوَحىَ مَكانَ الوَحىِ. يُضرَبُ لمَن لا يَعرِفُ الإيماءَ والتَّعريضَ حتّى يُجاهَرَ بما يُرادُ إلَيه.

No. 25

"The one who cannot take a hint is a fool."

inna man lā yaʿrifu al-waḥya aḥmaq

They attribute this saying to the Umayyad caliph ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (r. 717-720). It's similar to:

"His excuse is worse than his crime."

ʿudhruhū ashaddu min jurmih

٢٤ - إِنَّ خَصْلَتَيْنِ خَيْرُهُمَا الكَذِبُ لَخَصْلَتَا سُوْءٍ. يُضْرَبُ لِلرَّجُلِ يَعْتَذِرُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَعَلَهُ بِالكَذِبِ. يُحْكَى هَذَا المَثَلُ عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ العَزِيْزِ رَحِمَهُ اللهُ تَعَالَى، وَهَذَا كَقَوْلِهِمْ: عُذْرُهُ أَشَدُّ مِنْ جُرْمِهِ.

No. 24

"When lying is the best of two options, those are both bad options."

inna khaṣlatayni khayruhumā al-kadhibu la-khaṣlatā sūʾ

Said when someone makes an excuse for something they've done by lying.

أكمة akama pl. -āt, إكام ikām, أكم ukum, آكام ākām (coll. أكم akam) hill; reef; heap, pile | وراء الأكمة ما وراءها (warāʾa) something's fishy! there is more to it than meets the eye

Interestingly Hans Wehr recorded this with a different meaning:

٢٣ — إِنَّ وَرَاءَ الأَكَمَةِ مَا وَرَاءَهَا أَصْلُهُ أَنَّ أَمَةً وَاعَدَتْ صَدِيقَهَا أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُ وَرَاءَ الأَكَمَةِ إِذَا فَرَغَتْ مِنْ مِهْنَةِ أَهْلِهَا لَيْلاً، فَشَغَلُوهَا عَنِ الإِنْجَازِ بِمَا يَأْمُرُونَهَا مِنَ العَمَلِ، فَقَالَتْ حِينَ غَلَبَهَا الشَّوْقُ: حَبَسْتُمُونِي وَإِنَّ وَرَاءَ الأَكَمَةِ مَا وَرَاءَهَا. يُضْرَبُ لِمَنْ يُفْشِي عَلَى نَفْسِهِ أَمْرًا مَسْتُوراً.

No. 23

"There's something beyond the hill."

inna warāʾa al-akamati mā warāʾahā

The story is a servant wanted to meet her lover beyond a local hill but the people she worked for gave her too much work and she couldn't go and said this.

Said when one reveals something they had kept secret.

Not a very good one really.

٢٢ - إنَّ عَلَيْكَ جُرْشًا فَتَعَشَّهْ يُقال: مَضَى جُرْشٌ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ، وَجَوْشٌ: أيْ هَزيع. قُلْتُ: وقَوْلُهُ «فَتَعَشَّهْ» يَجُوزُ أنْ تَكُونَ الهاءُ لِلسَّكْتِ، مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ) في أحَدِ القَوْلَيْنِ، ويَجُوزُ أنْ تَكُونَ عائِدَةً إلَى الجُرْشِ على تَقْدير: فَتَعَشَّ فيهِ، ثُمَّ حَذَفَ «في» وأَوْصَلَ الفِعْلَ إلَيْهِ،

No. 22

"You still have the night, so eat dinner."

inna ʿalayka ǧuršan fataʿaššah

This is said to encourage someone with a task to do to take it easy and not push themselves too hard.

Egyptian Arabic proverb of the day:

"Cowardice is the master of all virtues."

الجبن سيد الأخلاق

el-gubn sayyid el-akhlāʾ

Egyptian Arabic idiom of the day:

"A bean doesn't get wet in his mouth"

I.e., he can't keep a secret

ما بتتبلش في بقه فولة

mā btitballish fī buʾʾuh fūla

The proverb is a hemistich in the basīṭ meter.

٢١ - إِنَّ الدَّوَاهِيَ فِي الآفَاتِ تَهْتَرِسُ ​وَيُرْوَى « تَرْتَهسُ » وهوَ قَلْبُ تَهْتَرِس مِنَ الْهَرْسِ ، وهوَ الدَّقُّ ، يَعْنِي أَنَّ الآفَات يَمُوجُ بَعْضُها فِي بَعْضٍ ويَدُقُّ بَعْضُها بَعْضاً كَثْرَةً . ​يُضْرَبُ عِنْدَ اشْتِدَادِ الزَّمانِ واضْطِرابِ الفِتَنِ .

No. 21

"When there is already disaster, calamity strikes."

inna al-dawāhiya fī l-āfāti tahtarisu

This means when one bad thing happens, other misfortunes tend to follow all at once; ~ when it rains, it pours.

Photo of a round cuneiform tablet with 4 lines of text enclosed with lines on the top and bottom. The identifier in black ink at the bottom of the tablet reads "U.E.T. 6/260"

"When a liar enters the city gate,
at his back is a finger,
at his front is a finger."
- Sumerian proverb

The fingers, presumably, are pointing at the liar, who has lied to those behind him and will lie to those in front of him.

Source: cdli.earth/artifacts/34...

No. 20

"Through just a narrow opening great calamities may be seen within."

inna l-khaṣāṣa yurā fī jawfihā al-raqam

The meaning is that something momentous may be hidden within something modest or trivial.

If you’re wondering whether or not you should do the thing — here’s your sign:

إِذَا كَانَ الْمُتَكَلِّمُ مَجْنُوناً يَكُونُ الْمُسْتَمِعُ عَاقِلاً ​ ​"If the speaker is mad, the hearer should be wise."

"If the one speaking is insane, the one listening should be reasonable."

—Omani proverb

idhā kāna al-mutakallim majnūn yakūn al-mustamiʿ ʿāqil

In other words, don't believe everything that you hear.

Very true. I'm looking at a 19th century book of Levantine proverbs right now and some of them are also found in classical texts and a lot of them are still in use today.