Arabic parallelism

From Wikiquote

The following is a list of Parallelism in the Arabic language

• اجلس حيث يُؤْخَذُ بيدك وَتُبَرُّ ولا تجلس حيث يؤخذ برجلك وتُجَرُّ
  • Literal meaning: Sit where your hand is taken and good is done to you, and don't sit where you are held by your leg and dragged.
  • Metaphoric meaning: Be where you are welcome and avoid where you are not welcome.
• احذروا من لا يرجى خيره ولا يؤمن شره
  • Literal meaning: Beware of him whose goodness you don't hope for and whose evil you can't be safe from.
  • Metaphoric meaning: none.
• إذا كان الكلام من فضة فالسكوت من ذهب
  • Literal meaning: If talk is made of silver then silence is made of gold.
  • Metaphoric meaning: listen more than you talk.
• إذا كنت سنداناً فاصبر وإذا كنت مطرقة فأوجع
  • Literal meaning: If you were an anvil be patient, if you were a hammer be hard.
  • Metaphoric meaning: if you are unlucky and there is nothing you can do about it, don't complain; if you are lucky, don't hold back.
• أسد عليَّ وفي الحروب نعامة
  • Literal meaning: A lion on me and an ostrich in war.
  • Metaphoric meaning: He pretends to be brave when there is no danger but he is a coward when there is.
  • Use: to express that someone is pretending to be what he is not.
• إصلاح الموجود خير من انتظار المفقود
  • Literal meaning: Fixing what you have is better than waiting to get what you don't have.
  • Metaphoric meaning: none.
• الإمارة حلوة الرضاع مُرَّةُ الفطام
  • Literal meaning: Lordship/command is sweet in nursing and bitter in weaning.
  • Metaphoric meaning: when someone becomes in charge, he does not want to quit.
• ابنك على ما ربيتيه و جوزك على ما عودتيه
  • Literal meaning: you son is the way you raised him and your husband is the way you accustomed him.
  • Metaphoric meaning: it's your fault really because you didn't change what you could have changed.
  • Use: to encourage someone not to allow people to "walk all over them".
• القرش الأبيض ينفع في اليوم الأسود
  • The white penny will become useful in your dark days.
• قليل في الجيب خير من كثير في الغيب
• لا تمازح الشريف فيحنق عليك ولا الدنيء فيتجرأ عليك
• اخطب لابنتك ولا تخطب لابنك
  • Literal meaning: Work for the engagement of your daughter, but don't work for the engagement of your son.
• إذا تكلمت بالكلمة ملكتك وإذا لم تتكلم بها ملكتها
  • Literal meaning: If you speak the word it shall own you, and if you don't you shall own it.