The heart of a fool is in his mouth, the mouth of a wise man is in his heart.
If a man told you that a dog had run off with your ear, would you go after the dog or search first for your ear?
Three things cause sorrow to flee; water, green trees, and a beautiful face.
Plans fail for lack of counsel but with many advisors, succeed.
A dog on the run is safely kicked.
He who is a mocker dances without a tamborine.
Some will learn through pain and sorrow, others through joy and laughter, so it is written.
To the dog who has money, men say: my lord dog.
When a dog cannot bite, it has a bone in its mouth.
He who touches honey is compelled to lick his fingers.
By all means make friends with the dog, but do not lay aside the stick.
Better a handful of dried figs and content with that, than to own the gate of peacocks and be kicked in the eye by a broody camel.
The hand you cannot bite, kiss.
He who eats when he is full digs his grave with his teeth.
The driver of an ass must by necessity know its wind.
Catch the halter rope and it will lead you to the donkey.
With much knowledge there is much sorrow, with much wisdom there is much weeping.
Angels bend down their wings to a seeker of knowledge.
By all means trust in Allah, but tie your camel first.
Do not shoot a glass arrow into a painted deer.
Open your door to a good day and prepare yourself for a bad one.
He is a good storyteller who can turn a man’s ears into eyes.
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bone.
An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.
A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but Allah tests the heart.
He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their maker.
He who lacks knowledge derides his neighbor, but the man of understanding holds his tongue.
If you’re going to tell the truth, you better have one foot in the stirrup.
A devil takes one and makes two, a saint takes two and makes one.
What is past is gone, what is hoped for is absent, for you is the hour in which you are.
Few desires, happy life.
Better the gurgling of a camel than the prayers of a fish.
For he who builds his casbah out of halava; beware the nibblers.
A wise woman has much to say and yet remains silent.
As the sands of the desert are to the weary traveler, so are words to he who loveth silence.
That which you put into your soup kettle, comes later onto your spoon.
If a man puts a cord around his neck, God will provide someone to pull it.
A book is like a garden in the pocket.
A teacher will appear when the student is ready.
For the sake of a single rose, the gardener becomes servant to a thousand thorns.
Let us sit bent, but talk straight.
Every rose has a thorn as its friend.
The camel driver has his plans and the camel has his.
If at noon the King declares it is night, behold the stars.
If the prayers of dogs were answered, bones would rain from the sky.
Do not judge a man by the whiteness of his turbin, soap is bought on credit.
A camel never sees his own hump, but those of his brothers are always before him.
In his heart a man may plan his course but God determines his every step.
The same destiny awaits both the wise man and the fool.
Do not correct with a strike that which can be taught with a kiss.
A fool’s lips bring him strife and invite a beating.
Like a gold ring in a pigs snout is a woman without descretion.
Better a patient man than a warrior, one who controls his temper than one who takes a city.
The mind is free and the slightest thought has great influence, it is therefore important that you think enlightened thoughts.
One who prevades the great universe is seen by none unless a man knows the unfolding of love.
Man alone is the measure of all things.
Every dog thinks of his own fleas as gazelles.
He who follows the crow will be led the the corpses of dogs.
The dawn does not come twice to awaken a man.
The palm of ones hand does not eclipse the sun.
The best fighting is often against yourself.
A narrow space looks wide to the narrow minded.
Kindness can pluck the whiskers of a lion.
He who has patience with his enemy, rewards himself.
Even as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind, so are the wise unshaken by praise or blame.
The weight of the burden is known only by he who caries it.
If I listen, I have the advantage; if I speak, others have it.
The village gate can be closed, the mouth of the fool, never.
Without fingers, the hand would be a spoon.
Allah gives dried beans to eat to him who has no teeth left.
The barking of dogs does not hurt the clouds.
The tongue has no bone yet it crushes.
Often the best way to give oneself what one lacks is to take from oneself what one has.
The understanding of an Arab is in his eyes.
Patience is the key of paradise.
The candle is put into the lantern, and the moth is left outside, fluttering.
The air of heaven is that which blows between the horse’s ears.
Allah gives dry beans to eat to him who has no teeth left.
If a man puts a cord around his neck, God will provide someone to pull it.
The beard of the guest is in the hands of the owner of the tent.
If you see him riding on a bamboo cane, say to him: ‘Good health to your horse.’
Unless you open every door – every door – it is fear that hides behind all our movements.
Think of the ‘going out’ before you enter.
The day has its eyes, the night has its ears.
The most wonderful thing in the world is the success of a fool and the failure of a wise man.
A strainer is none the worse for having another hole.
Take care. The sleep of nonexistence will overtake you at last, for the coming and going of the breath is but the rocking of the cradle.
He who houses a camel must make his door higher.
A small date stone props up the water jar.
May Allah protect me from my friends, my enemies I can handle.
If the light serves to see, it also serves to been seen.
Push a lucky man into the Nile, and he will come up with a fish in his mouth.
The moon shines in the absence of the sun. Do not strike a rail with your fist, nor mistake the sun for the puff of a candle.
Manage with bread and butter until God brings the jam.
The bear knew nine songs, all were on honey.
If you are an anvil, you will suffer like an anvil. If you are a hammer, you will strike like a hammer.
An egg cannot break a stone.
The biggest nuts are those which are empty.
Let us sit bent but talk straight.
When the chicken’s feathers are of gold, it isn’t smart to make broth out of the hen.
The fish in the trap will begin to think.
A smooth lie is better than a distorted truth.
Every sheep hangs by its own leg.
If the prayers of dogs were answered, bones would rain from the sky.
Don’t be deceived by the whiteness of the turban; soap is bought on credit.
If a man said to you: ‘A dog carried away your ear,’ would you go after the dog or search first for your ear?
Allah may love a poor man, but not a dirty one.
Put your dates in the honey pot, but don’t sink it afterwards in the mud of the Nile.
If you make yourself honey, the flies will eat you.
To a donkey, one thistle is better than two ass-loads of jewels.
Every man thinks of his own fleas as gazelles.
When the crow is your guide, he will lead you to the corpses of dogs.
Mother a weed, father a weed – do you expect the daughter to be a saffron root?
One cannot hold two watermelons in one hand.
You can count the number of apples in one tree, but you can never count the number of trees in one apple.
A camel never sees his own hump, but that of his brother’s is always before his eyes.
Life is a perpetual drunkenness; the pleasure passes, but the headache remains.
However high the eye may rise, it will find the eyebrow above it.
If fate throws a knife at you, there are two ways of catching it; by the blade and by the handle.
It’s easy to carry on war – through a spyglass.
When you have put your head into the mortar, it is useless to dread the sound of the pestle.
Nourish a vulture and it will pick out your eyes.
Whoever pats scorpions with the hand of compassion gets stung.
Every knot has an unwraveller in Allah.
There are men who are keys to good and locks to evil.
O destiny, it pleases you to caress a few – and molest others.
The dung heap must make itself smelt before we can breathe the perfume of the flowers.
The dogs may bark, but the caravan passes on.
A sponge to wipe out the past, a rose to make the present sweet, and a kiss to salute the future.