Arabic Proverbs

لا ناقة لي فيها ولاجمل I have nothing to do with this. This is similar to the English idiom "I have no horse in this race". The literal translation: I have neither a female or male camel in it.

لكل جواد كبوة Nobody's perfect, even Homer nods (lit: every horse stumbles). There is additionally a long form version of this Expression,
لكل عالمٍ هفوة ولكل جوادٍ كبوة ولكل صارمٍ نبوة 

الديك الفصيح من البيضة يصيح The eloquent rooster crows from the egg. This phrase describes innate talent typically with youth.

عصفور في اليد خير من عشرة  على الشجرة A bird in the hand is worth ten on the tree. Be happy with what you have. The literal translation comes very close to the English expression, differing in number, ten as opposed to two. 

القشة التي قصمت ظهر البعير The straw that broke the camel's back. 

الطيور على اشكالها تقع Birds of a feather flock together. 

القافلة تسير والكلاب تعوي The caravan marched and the dogs barked. The march of progress cannot be stopped by a few critics.

أسمع جعجعة ولا أرى طحنا Much ado about nothing (lit: I hear the grinding of millstones yet I see no flour). 

الأفعال أبلغ من الأقوال Actions speak loader than words. 

من المهد إلى اللحد From the cradle to the grave.

من شب على شيءٍ شاب عليه One who grows up with something grows old and grey with it. Old habits die hard.

عادت حليمة إلى عادتها القديمة Halima returned to her old habit. Also, old habits die hard.

لا يعرف الكوع من البوع He has no idea what's going on (lit: doesn't know the bend from his elbow).

أشد الفاقة عدم العقل The greatest poverty is a lack of intelligence.

للّه في خلقه شؤون God's creation is wonderfully diverse. An ironic statement made in light of something farcical. 

عزف على وترٍ واحد To beat the dead horse (lit: to play a single string).

كل من هب ودب Every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Everybody and his brother. 

كالمستجير من الرمضاء بالنار Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

وضع العربة أمام الحصان placing the cart before the horse

في كل بيت بالوعة Every house has a sewer. The equivalent expression would be "skeletons in the closet". 

يعمل من الحبة قبة He makes mountains out of molehills (lit: he makes a dome out of a grain).

في الحركة بركة Exercise is a blessing.

خير الأمور الوسط All things in moderation.

درهم وقاية خير من قنطار علاج Prevention is better than treatment. 

ضرب الحبيب مثل أكل الزبيب A beating from a loved one is sweet like eating raisins. The expression is a justification for domestic violence but can be useful in highlighting enduring negative social norms. Here is video from a USAID series صحح مثلك which criticizes the normalization of sexism in Arabic proverbs. 

  
مثل الأطرش في الزفة Like a deaf man at a wedding. Used to describe someone who doesn't know anything.

أهل مكة أدرى بشعابها The people of Mecca know best its narrow streets. As an outsider I can not comment on the issue.

صدفة خير من ألف  ميعاد A chance meeting is better than a thousand appointments.

الصديق عند الضيق A friend in need is a friend indeed.

عذر أقبح من ذنب The excuse is worse (uglier) than the sin.

حبل الكذب قصير The rope of lies is short. 

أكذب من مسيلمة A bigger liar than Masaylmah. A really big liar, the saying is in reference to a false prophet during the time of the Prophet Mohammed. Not in common usage but it is understood. I have read it a few times in relation to corrupt political regimes.

الكذب داء والصدق دواء Lying is a disease and truth is the cure.

يأكل على كل الموائد He eats from every table. He is a major hypocrite. 

يقتل القتيل ثم يمشي في جنازته After he killed him, he attended the victims funeral. He is shameless. 

ضربني وبكى وسبقني واشتكى He beat me and sobbed, cut me off and complained.  

الصبر مفتاح الفرج Patience is the key to relief. 

أنا في واد وانت في واد I am in one Wadi and you are in another. We are poles apart. Let's agree to disagree.

تأتي الرياح بما لا تشتهي السفن The wind does not blow as the ship wishes. You can't always get what you want.

لا يكلف الله نفسا إلا وسعها God does not place a burden on a soul greater than it can bear.

قطرة بقطرة يحمل الواد Drop by drop a river forms. It's a good saying for something takes a long time to learn, like Arabic.

اليد البطالة نجسة The idle hand is filthy. Idle hands are the Devil's playthings. 

القرد في عين امه غزال A monkey in the eyes of his mother is a gazelle. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

كل شيء مباح في الحب والحرب All is fair in love and war.

يعرف من أين يؤكل الكتف He knows how to get the meat from the shoulder. He is resourceful. 

كل قيسٍ يغني على ليلاه Every Qays (Romeo) sings to his Layla (Juliet). A statement in reference to someones complete obsession with something. 

 كريم متى أمدحه، أمدحه والورى معي، وإذا ما لمته، لمته وحدي When I praise Karim, I praise him and all of humanity is with me, if I chastise him, I do so in private. Praise in public, reprimand in private. As far as I know this is not in common usage but I included it because it has similarities to an equivalent Moroccan expression.

من رابع المستحيلات That is the fourth impossibility. This often gets changed in dialect to a greater number. In Morocco it is the seventh impossibility. However, the three impossibilities are the ghoul, the phoenix, and the loyal friend (الغول والعنقاء والخل الوفي). The fourth is whatever you happen to intensely disagree with or determine to be outside the realm of possibility.

اختلط الحابل بالنابل Helter skelter, a tangled, confusing mess where it is difficult to separate the bad from the good.

رجع بخفي حنين He returned empty handed.

رب أخ لم يلده أمك Your brother from another mother.

الشيطان يكمن في التفاصيل The devil is in the details.

البحر من ورائكم والعدو أمامكم The sea is behind you and the enemy is before you. Between the devil and the deep blue sea.

بين المطرقة والسندان Between the hammer and the anvil. Between a rock and a hard place. 

جزاؤه جزاء سنمار His reward was the punishment of Cenmar, or  just Cenmar's compensation
 جزاء سنمار. No good deed goes unpunished. 

بيدي لا بيد عمرو By my own hand, and not 'Amrou's. If you want something done right, do it yourself, don't leave it up to chance. 

عند جهينة الخبر اليقينThe correct news is found with the Juhaina tribe. Get it straight from the horse's mouth.

أين أذنك يا جحا Where is your ear Juha! Someone who goes to unnecessary lengths in the attempt to solve a problem.

أشام من البسوس More jinxed than al-Basoos. Really unlucky or truly cursed. 

من بيته من زجاج لا يرمي الناس بالحجارة Those who love in glass houses should not throw stones.  

إبرة في كومة قش A needle in a haystack.

إذا تمّ العقل نقص الكلام The smarter you are the less you speak. Don't waste words. 

خير الكلام ما قل ودل The best talk is short and to the point. Also, don't waste words. 

أحمد البلاغة الصمت حين لا يحسن الكلام The most praised speech is silence when words are inappropriate. If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. 

إذا كان الكلام من فضة فالسكوت من ذهب If talk is silver than silence is gold.

القناعة كنز لا يفني Contentment is a treasure that never dies. Be happy for what you have. 

لا تؤجد عمل اليوم إلى الغد Don't put off until tomorrow what can be done today.

أعطي خبزك للخباز لو أكل نصه Give your bread to the baker even if he should eat half of it. Bring the job to someone who can do it right even if there should be a fee. 

أحسن إلى الناس تستعبد قلوبهم Be kind to people and you will enslave their hearts. 

أدنى من حبل الوريد Closer than the jugular vein. A very close friend that you would trust in any situation to include your life. 

إذا سلمت من الأسد فلا تطمع في صيده If you are saved from the lion, don't get greedy and hunt it. Don't press your luck.

الأقربون أولى بالمعروف Take care of your relatives in need before your friends. Charity begins in the home.

سبق السيف العذل It's too late. The die is cast. That ship has sailed.

الثروة تأتي كالسلحفاة وتذهب كالغزال Wealth comes as the turtle and leaves like a gazelle. 

احفظ قرشك الأبيض ليومك الأسود Save your white penny for your black day. Save it for a rainy day.

يسرق الحهل من العين He would steal the kohl (eyeliner) from the eye. ِA shameless thief.

العين بصيرة واليد قصيرة The eye can see and the arm to short (to obtain something). The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

الغاية تبرر الوسيلة The ends justify the means.

الحسود لا يسود The envious one does not prevail. 

يد واحدة لا تصفق One hand cannot clap. Similar in meaning to "Two heads are better than one" or "No man is an island". Teamwork and cooperation are often necessary. 

اتسع الخرق على الراقع The fabric is torn beyond repair. A comment on widespread corruption with little or no possibility of reform.

الصيف ضيعت اللبن You have wasted the milk in the summer. You have missed your chance.

ضرب في حديد بارد He beat cold iron. To do something with no benefit or take futile steps to accomplish something.

كلا الأخوين ضراط ولكن شهاب الدين أضرط من أخيه Both brothers farted but Shahaab al-Din made his brother fart. This proverb is an expression of a choice between two bad things, the lesser of two evils. 

أعمله الرماية كل يوم فلما استدّ ساعده رماني I taught him archery every day and when he got good at it, he shot me. I taught him everything he knows and then he used it against me. I have heard this in another context similar to "the student has surpassed the teacher".

كل الصيد في جوف الفراء All manner of game is in the belly of the wild ass. This is an archaic saying but it still shows up in modern writing. It is said of someone or something that is a combination of advantages and good qualities and dispenses with all else. 

إن سرقت اسرق جمل وإن عشقت اعشق قمر If you steal, steal a camel and if you love, love someone as beautiful as the moon. Don't half ass something, give it your all.