«أَخِّرْهَا وَرَا، آخِرِ النَّهَارْ تِجِيبَكْ قُدَّامْ»

The saying pictures a rider who holds a mount back early in the day and lets the others go ahead. In the image, by evening the same animal brings the rider to the front: the strength that was spared at the start is still there after the others have spent theirs. Read more widely, it advises pacing one's own effort. Strength spent on a fast start is not there later, and a measured beginning can leave enough in reserve to finish well.

The advice fits long efforts that are decided at the end, where reserves count for more than early position. It does not say that starting behind is an advantage in itself, or that the rested will always overtake. That depends on the others actually tiring, and on the effort lasting long enough for the difference to show. Where an early move decides the outcome, such as a chance that goes to whoever arrives first, holding back becomes a lost chance. The saying is also misapplied when it is used to excuse delay or a reluctance to begin. The rider in the image travels with the others, only behind them, so the restraint is in the pace, not in setting off.

Its present-day use is not established. Read as advice, it could be offered to someone at the start of a long undertaking, such as a demanding course of study, a new job or an extended project, who seems eager to race ahead of everyone else. Coming from someone with experience, it can land as reassurance that being behind at first is not failure. Said to someone already anxious about being left behind, or in a situation where speed really matters, it may sound like a reason to slow down when they cannot afford to.