Proverbs have held a special value in the daily life and culture of Arabia since antiquity. They encapsulated the basic truths, practical wisdom and life lessons learned by the forefathers and passed down to generation after generation through the spoken word. In the pre-Islamic period of Jahiliyya oral poetry flourished and with the advent and proliferation of Islam both sacred and secular verbal literary forms continued to gain popularity.

 

Committing poetry and other forms of verbal expressions to memory remained a strong characteristic of the people of the Arabian Peninsula, especially since memorization of at least portions of the Quran became a widespread practice for devout Muslims. Of the numerous formulaic forms in the Arabic language proverbs became among the most pervasive, partly due to their conciseness and educational value. New proverbs were quoted from the Quran and Hadith, and Islamic heritage provided rich material for new proverbs and sayings that were added to the tradition of proverbs in the region.

 

 

 The United Arab Emirates shares Arabic Muslim proverbs with the rest of the Arab world, which are usually in classical Arabic. Additionally the country also has its own proverbs which are inspired by local folklore and observation of life and human nature as well as Islam, and these are mostly in local Arabic dialect. Also, due to the geographical, economic, social and cultural affinity between the Gulf states, there are many proverbs which are common only to these states.

 

 

The following is a sample of proverbs popular among UAE communities.

“If you see men stroking their beards, stroke yours.”

Obviously, this proverb is a call for one to be diplomatic, especially in the presence of people that may belong to a different age group or have a different background or culture. It can be seen as an advice to conform with social norms, practices and customs of one’s own community or another community the individual may come in close contact with. It teaches one to be prudent and accommodating in the company of others and act like one of them and comply with their customs, even if sometimes he or she may not understand such customs or practices. This proverb is also an advice to not let vanity or pride stop a person from reciprocating in the presence of people that may be of a lower social standing.

 

“Goodness in the heart (belly) of evil.”

This proverb is said of things, circumstances, events or people that at first would appear bad or ominous but would eventually prove to be good or lead to desirable results, such as a storm that may bring badly needed rain water, the repulsive taste of a potion that cures sickness or when judging people from their appearance as bad or evil while they may be kind hearted. So, this proverb calls for exercising reason and not to rush into hasty judgments.

 

This is an advice to not discard of things that appear at the time to have little or no value for they may prove to be useful in future. From a wider perspective, the proverbs cautions against under-estimating the value of things for they may not be available when needed.

This proverb simply says that trickery or deceit does not pay.

“Charcoal yields ash.”

‘Burning coal yields ash’ is a metaphor that is said about a good man or a good father (burning coal) who is given a bad or useless son (ash). In other words, parents should not always be blamed for the bad deeds of a wicked son or daughter since bad nature may overpower good upbringing and nurture.

 

“Wrap your finger with a bandage, and everyone would prescribe you a medicine.”

This refers to people driven by their need for recognition would volunteer advice whenever they have a chance regardless of how little they know about the subject in question. The implied recommendation of the proverb is not to get oneself confused by seeking the same advice from many people and listening to conflicting opinions, or if one had to listen to various advices, to be discerning and use reason to decide on his own whether any of the advices was good.

 

“Tend yourself to your money (business) and not seven of your workers.”

The punch line is that one is always better off to personally look after one’s business than to hire even several people to do his or her job. In other words, noone has the same interest and stake in a business as the business owner has, and thus the risk is high when the business owner is away.

 

“A traveler has a path in the sea.”

This proverb is said to encourage a traveler not to despair in the face of difficulties on a journey, as God always supports those who have faith and lead them to safety. From a wider perspective the proverb is meant to give comfort to people who have difficulties in their journey through life or who expect hard times ahead as they embark on major endeavors. In this sense, it is equivalent to saying there is always “light at the end of the tunnel”.

 

“A drowning man clings onto algae.”

This proverb is said about a person who, out of despair, may cling to any false hope, flimsy excuse or delusion while struggling to come to terms with one’s situation.

 

“Haste makes people eat their bread raw.”

This proverb encourages people to be deliberate in what they pursue since hasty decisions and impulsiveness would at best lead to ‘half-baked’ results.

 

“An egg today, better than a chicken tomorrow.”

This proverb teaches people to be contented with what they have today and not live on a promise or hope that may not come true tomorrow. In other words, it is a call to be realistic and not put much hope on what may not happen in future.

This proverb literary says that “a man is whom he sits with”, which makes it similar to the English proverb, “birds of a feather flock together” or the Russian proverb, “tell me who’s your friend and I’ll tell you who you are.”

 

Shaheen is a falcon or vulture, which is not edible and instead is used for hunting. This proverb says: those who do not know what shaheen is would [probably] grill it. In other words, it means that those who pick up a trade where they have no experience or take over a task where they have no skills are bound to do more harm than good