Arabic proverbs
Traditional saying. The library holds 605 of them. Here are the 60 most quoted; search the library in the maker for the rest.
Often about: wisdom, knowledge, family, truth, kindness, money
The 60 best known
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Two sins only God does not forgive—worship of false gods and injury to men.
translated by John Wortabet -
The fierce anger of a foolish man is checked by gentleness as a fierce fire is extinguished by water.
translated by John Wortabet -
A man said to another who had spoken evil of him: “If what you have said be true, may God forgive me; and if false, may He forgive you.”
translated by John Wortabet -
Do not be ashamed to give little, for it is less than that, if you give nothing.
translated by John Wortabet -
No man is entitled to consideration unless he has these three things, or at least one of them: the fear of God to restrain him from evil, forbearance with wicked men, and a good nature towards all.
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A miser lives the life of a poor man in this world, and will be judged as a rich man in the world to come.
translated by John Wortabet -
Not every one who seeks shall find, nor every one who is indifferent be denied.
translated by John Wortabet -
Honour your tribe, for they are the wing with which you fly.
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Reason is a light in the heart which distinguishes between truth and error.
translated by John Wortabet -
Charity lies between two charities—one to yourself, the other to your needy fellow man.
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If truth and falsehood were pictured they would be represented by a terrible lion and a cunning fox.
translated by John Wortabet -
Seize on opportunities, for they are either a spoil if improved, or a grief if neglected.
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Life is a vanishing space of time, and he alone vanquishes its changing fortunes who lives in contentment.
translated by John Wortabet -
To carry out a well-devised plan in war is more effectual than strokes and thrusts.
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The difference between envy and emulation is, that in the first the desire is for the cessation of a good enjoyed by another, and in the second the desire is for the possession of a similar good.
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Actions are judged by their endings. If you desire a thing, consider its end.
translated by John Wortabet -
The hair often becomes white, not from the succession of years, but from a succession of evils.
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Be patient—every cloud dissipates, and every evil which does not continue is a small thing.
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A true man yearns towards his native country, and longs for his home as a lion longs for his lair.
translated by John Wortabet -
Everything has need of reason, and reason has need of experience.
translated by John Wortabet -
If you are too soft you will be squeezed, and if you are too dry you will be broken.
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If a man professes to thank God and his wealth decreases, his thanksgiving must be vitiated by his neglect of the hungry and naked.
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An inherited quality may be traced back to the seventh grandfather.
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I would not accept the whole world if I were to suffer the humiliation of being constantly reminded of the gift.
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If a man do you a favour recompense him, and if you are unable to do so, pray for him.
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He who is ungrateful for the good he receives deserves that it should be withdrawn from him.
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Where there is much difference of opinion it is difficult to know the truth.
translated by John Wortabet -
Wedlock is like a besieged fortress: those who are outside wish to get in, and those who are inside wish to get out.
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A good man sees his own faults and is blind to the faults of others.
translated by John Wortabet -
There are cases where not kindness but severity is necessary.
translated by John Wortabet -
He who is ill-mannered to his father will be ill-treated by his son.
translated by John Wortabet -
Man can be thankful to God only so far as he does good to his fellow men.
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Profit by occasions when they turn up, and do not worry about an evil which has not yet come.
translated by John Wortabet -
If it were not for my own arm, my mouth would have nothing to eat.
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When a secret is known to more than two, it becomes public.
translated by John Wortabet -
He who is impatient to hear one word will have to listen to many words.
translated by John Wortabet -
Of all evils nothing is so hard to be borne as the triumph of an enemy.
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One of the surest evidences of gentleness is tenderness to fools.
translated by John Wortabet -
Be not hasty with your tongue. If words are silver, silence is gold.
translated by John Wortabet -
He who is sparing in cheerfulness is more sparing in doing a kindness.
translated by John Wortabet -
When you do a kindness hide it, and when a kindness is done to you proclaim it.
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No man appreciates the worth of health until he is afflicted with disease.
translated by John Wortabet -
He who disregards his own honour gets no good from an honourable lineage.
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There are four points in a good character from which all other good traits take their origin—prudence, courage, continence, and justice.
translated by John Wortabet -
A bright face and bright eyes are a greater boon than a rich inheritance.
translated by John Wortabet -
To God alone I make my plaint of sorrow and grief (Koran 12, 86).
translated by John Wortabet -
If you keep your secret you are safe, and it will be to your sorrow if you reveal it.
translated by John Wortabet -
The most faulty of men are they that are most loquacious in matters which do not concern them.
translated by John Wortabet -
Restrain your tongue from saying anything but what is good.
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When a man makes up his mind to do a thing it becomes easy for him to do it.
translated by John Wortabet -
A man who has no brother is like one who has a left arm and no right. A brother is a wing.
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Avarice and faith in God can never live together in the heart of man.
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He who says what he should not say, will have to hear what he would not like to hear.
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When your son is young, train him; when he is grown, make a brother of him.
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Humility is that line of conduct which is a mean between overbearing pride on the one hand and abject servility on the other, as economy is the middle term between extravagance and avarice.
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If there be anything more valuable than life, it is sound health.
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He controls himself most who hides a secret from his friends.
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As a nurse who has brought you up, has a special claim on you, so has your country.
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Time is a sharp sword—strike with it before you are struck by it.
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The object sought in abstruse study is either a truth which cannot be known, or a vain thing which it is useless to know.
translated by John Wortabet