خير تعمل شر تلقى

Kharen te’mel sharren telqa

Translation: The good you do is rewarded with evil.

Meaning: No good deed will go unpunished. Those whom you help will either take you for a sucker, or go into further trouble and manage to drag you along. Play it safe, don’t be good, or at least don’t let anyone know that.

Source: Egyptian Proverbs, (Al-Ahram Center for Translation and Publishing, 1986) by Ahmed Taymour Pasha,

Translated by: Nabil Shawkat