النخلة لأكارها والحضرة لبوارها
“The palm tree belongs to its farmer, and the fish-trap belongs to its boatman.”
The reward for something rightfully goes to whoever actually does the work of tending or running it, not to an idle owner — invoking Bahrain's two traditional livelihoods, date farming and hadra (fixed fish-trap) fishing.
— Traditional Bahrain Wisdom, Bahrain
Source: folkculturebh.org, "Palm Culture Through Popular Proverbs in the Kingdom of Bahrain" (Bahraini popular-culture journal), attributed there to writer Abbas al-Saffar
More Proverbs from Bahrain
All you have is your nose, even if it's bent.
You must accept and make the best of what you actually have, since it is the only thing that is truly yours.
You can't straighten a dog's tail.
A person's core nature or bad habits cannot be permanently changed, no matter how hard you try.
The world is in turmoil, and the woman is still looking for a husband.
Said of someone chasing a trivial personal goal while everyone around them faces a much bigger crisis.
Whoever can't reach the grapes says they are sour.
People often belittle what they cannot have, making excuses to hide their own failure or envy.
We taught them how to beg, and they beat us to the doors.
A warning about ingratitude — those you help can surpass or outmaneuver you using the very skill you gave them.
What is in the pot, the spoon will dig it out.
The truth always comes out eventually, no matter how well it is hidden.