The episode (10/15/2024) of the “Reflections” program, which is broadcast on the “Tel Aviv Tribune 360” platform, dealt with excerpts from proverbs and stories of ancient Arabs, including “If I had howled for you, I would not have howled” and what was said about the most greedy people.
The story of the Arabic proverb, “If I had howled, I would not have howled,” goes back to a man lost in a vast desert that made him feel lonely and afraid, then he was surprised by what he did not expect.
It is narrated that a man was walking at night in a desolate desert, and he felt lonely and afraid, then he stood on a rock and started howling in all directions to make the people’s dogs bark, that is, he asked for their barking to answer him, so he could find out who was alive and who was human.
A wolf heard the man’s howling and targeted it. The man said, “If I had howled for you, I would not have howled.” That is, if I had known that my howling would bring you, I would not have howled.
This proverb is used for someone who asked for good but fell into evil.
One poet describes his guest by saying:
And Mustabarbih said, “Al-Sada” is similar to his saying, “A fire was raised for him, having splintered firewood.”
I quickly got up to him and took his spoils, fearing that my people would win him before
Among the stories mentioned in the “Reflections” episode was what was narrated about the most greedy person. It was said to him: How greedy are you? He said: I have never looked at two people walking together at a funeral except that I thought that the deceased had bequeathed something to me from his money, and no one put his hand up his sleeve except that I thought he was giving me something.
It is also narrated on the authority of Ashab that he said: The boys gathered around me one day, and I wanted to get rid of them, so I said that Salem bin Abdullah had cooked mush in his house and distributed it to the people, so they went to him, and he said when I saw them leaving quickly, I thought the matter was as you said, so I rode running after them.
It was said that Asha’ab was sitting with his wife at dinner, and he said to her, “What a delicious meal it would be, if it weren’t for the intense crowding.” She said, “It’s just you and me.” He replied: I wished it were me and fate.