غلام عاقل خير من شيخ جاهل
Ghuamun aqel khayrun men shaykhen jahel
Translation: A prudent teenager is better than an ignorant old man
Meaning: Prudence is something that some people acquire early in their lives, and some never at all. So, don’t trust people’s judgement just because they are advanced in age. This saying is set in classical Arabic, not the usual vernacular, suggesting an educational provenance or a quote from a Muslim scholar or an Arabian sage.
Source: Egyptian Proverbs, (Al-Ahram Center for Translation and Publishing, 1986) by Ahmed Taymour Pasha,
Translated by: Nabil Shawkat
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