«وَلَا كُلُّ طَائِرٍ يَلِجُ الْفَخَّ وَلَوْ كَانَ مُحَدَّقًا بِاللُّجَيْنِ»
Not every bird will enter a trap, even if the trap is ornamented with silver.
Yalij means to enter, fakhkh a snare, and lujayn silver. The next line reads «وَلَكَمْ مَنْ سَعَى لِيَصْطَادَ فَاصْطِيدَ وَلَمْ يَلْقَ غَيْرَ خُفَّيْ حُنَيْنٍ» — how many hunters were themselves caught and returned with nothing but Ḥunayn’s two sandals. The proverb signifies a fruitless or disappointed return. Both images invert the expected triumph of a predator.