Context:

He recalls hearing it when he was very young, in Jerusalem, but can’t put it in a time frame. “I used to hear it a lot, but not for me; I could not help at that point.” “We use it when we ask someone for help, but we find out that they need help in that area. For example, if you ask someone for help with homework, and they say, ‘Yeah, I need help in that too.’”

Text:

Original Script: جبناك يا معين تتعين. طلع بدك مين يعين

Transliteration: Jibnak ya Moeen tateen. Tilah biddak meen yaeen.

Translation: We brought you, Moeen, to help. It turns out you need the help.

Thoughts:

This saying delivers the message of “I thought you could help me, but you can’t” in a rhyme in order to take out some of the edge (the rhyme between “tateen” and “yaeen” gets lost in translation to English). This is similar to the Biblical idiom “the blind leads the blind” (Matthew 15:14);* both occupy the space between seriousness and humor, which makes the messages behind them easier to take.

*https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15%3A14&version=NASB