قيراط بخت ولا فدان شطارة 

Qirat bakht wala faddan shatara

Translation: One qirat of good luck is better than a whole feddan of cleverness.

Meaning: Luck trumps talent. This proverb, still in use, is one of a genre of sayings that belittle the value of talent, however hard-earned, when compared with luck. Such sayings become popular in times of upheaval, political or technological, when adapting to new developments becomes more important than having conventional training.

(Feddan, an area of about an acre, is divided into 24 qirats)

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

Translated by: Nabil Shawkat