«وَلَا خَلَقَهْ علَى الْكُومْ إِلَّا لَمَّا شَافِتْ يُومْ»

The saying warns against judging anything solely by its current lowly condition. A tattered scrap tossed onto a pile of refuse may have belonged to a costly garment that someone once kept carefully and wore with pride. Its present shabbiness tells you nothing about the regard it once enjoyed.

By extension, the line asks for humility and respect toward whatever has lost its standing. What looks worthless today may have had its season of value and esteem. Contempt based only on appearances overlooks that history; the image points to worth already enjoyed, not a promise that it will return.

Say it when someone mocks or dismisses a shabby, discarded, or diminished thing, or a person who has come down in the world. It cautions the speaker that present neglect may hide a valued past and calls for restraint rather than scorn.