Be wary around your enemy once, and your friend a thousand times. A double crossing friend knows more about what harms you.

More Arabic Proverbs

• Much travel is needed before a raw man is ripened.
• The smarter you are, the less you speak.
• Ask your purse what you should buy.
• In haste there is regret, but in patience and care there is peace and safety. This means you shouldn’t rush things, because if you rush something you’ll end up doing a poor job and regretting the results. If you take your time, you’re ensuring a good end result and can feel peace in knowing that.
• Lying is a disease, and truth is a cure.
• Avoid the company of liars, but if you can’t, don’t believe them. This one is pretty straightforward, isn’t it?
• Planning is half of living.
• Wealth comes like a turtle and runs away like a gazelle. This means it can take ages for you to find wealth, but spending it all is far too easy – it can disappear before you know it!
• Tougher than a stone.
• Ask the experienced rather than the learned.
• The wisest is the one who can forgive.
• A tree begins with a seed.
• If you are charitable, you are rich.
• More skillful than a silk worm.
• Keeping a secret is a commitment.
• An envious person is the unhappiest.
• Time is made of gold.
• Do not buy either the moon or the news, for in the end they will both come out.
• Eat less to sleep more.
• A sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to our steps as we walk the tightrope of life.
• Discipline your son when he’s young, and be his friend when he grows up.
• The best answer will come from the person who is not angry.
• The carpenter’s door is loose. This might refer to the idea that people who make a profession or a habit of one thing might not have the time to even use that skill in their own life. They take care of everyone except for themselves.
• Beware the levelheaded person if they’re angry. Levelheaded people are usually calm and collected, and don’t anger easily. This saying refers to the fact that if something set off a levelheaded person, you should be more worried!
• A house divided cannot stand.
• Close the door that brings in the wind and relax. This means that sometimes, rather than taking a beating, you should just shut off the source of the noise, distraction, problem – that is, if you can – and take a break.
• Ignorance is the most terrible acquaintance.