The best of qualities is guarding one's tongue. خير الخلال حفظ اللسان

خير الخلال حفظ اللسان
يضرب في الحث على الصمت.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The best of qualities is guarding one's tongue.
This proverb is used to encourage silence.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
المثل العربي «خير الخلال حفظ اللسان» معناه: أفضل الخصال أن يحفظ الإنسان لسانه، فيتجنب كثرة الكلام، والغيبة، والنميمة، والكلام المؤذي أو غير النافع.
وأقرب المقابلات في الثقافة الإنجليزية هي: Silence is golden.
«الصمت من ذهب.»
وهو أشهر مقابل؛ إذ يمجد الصمت عندما يكون الكلام قد يسبب ضررًا.
If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.
«إذا لم يكن لديك ما تقوله بلطف، فلا تقل شيئًا.»
يركز على كف اللسان عن الكلام المؤذي.
Think before you speak.
«فكر قبل أن تتكلم.»
يؤكد ضرورة ضبط اللسان والتروي قبل النطق.
Speech is silver; silence is golden.
«الكلام من فضة، والسكوت من ذهب.»
وهو مثل إنجليزي مشهور يطابق روح المثل العربي بدرجة كبيرة.
أفضل مقابل: Speech is silver; silence is golden. أو اختصارًا Silence is golden. لأنهما يعبران عن أن فضيلة الصمت وضبط اللسان خير من الكلام الذي قد يجلب الندم أو الأذى، وهو المعنى الأقرب للمثل العربي
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Arabic proverb "The best of qualities is guarding one's tongue" means: The best quality is for a person to guard their tongue, avoiding excessive talking, backbiting, gossip, and harmful or useless speech.
The closest equivalents in English culture are:
"Silence is golden."
This is the most famous equivalent; it praises silence when speech could cause harm.
"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."
This emphasizes refraining from harmful speech.
"Think before you speak."
This underscores the importance of controlling one's tongue and being deliberate before speaking.
"Speech is silver; silence is golden."
This is a famous English proverb that closely matches the spirit of the Arabic proverb.
Best equivalent: Speech is silver; silence is golden. Or, in short, Silence is golden. Because they express that the virtue of silence and controlling one's tongue is better than speech that may bring regret or harm, which is the closest meaning to the Arabic proverb.

Abandon falsehood even when you think it will benefit youدعِ الْكَذِبَ حَيْثُ تَرَى أَنَّهُ يَنْفَعُكَ فإِنَّهُ يَضُرُّكَ،

, for it will ultimately harm you; and adhere to truthfulness even when you think it will harm you, for it will ultimately benefit you.
This proverb encourages making truthfulness a habit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Arabic saying encourages honesty, even if it seems painful or ineffective, and avoidance of lying, even if it seems tempting or beneficial. A similar English proverb or saying is:
"Honesty is the best policy."
This is a well-known English proverb that encourages honesty.
Another saying that conveys a more complete meaning is:
"A lie may take care of the present, but it has no future."
Or:
"Tell the truth, even if it hurts; a lie may help now but harm later."
Similarly, Mark Twain said:
"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."
However, if you're looking for a common English proverb that corresponds to this Arabic saying, the best equivalent is:
"Honesty is the best policy."
Because it embodies the same idea: honesty is ultimately beneficial, and lying is harmful even if it seems beneficial at first.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
يضرب في الحث على لزوم الصدق حتى يصير عادة.