Persistent effort

Let your neighbor's success spur you on, but never begrudge him what he has.

The saying separates two reactions to the good fortune of a neighbor, meaning anyone close enough to invite comparison. One is competitive emulation, not romantic or possessive jealousy: a rivalry that makes you strive until you reach the same level. The other is envy, a resentful wish that the other lacked what they have. Only the first is encouraged.

Spin a hundred threads a day, and by year's end you will have two whole garments.

The proverb measures achievement by what repeated action can build, rather than by the apparent size of any one day’s output. Work that looks slight when viewed alone may yield an impressive total when it is faithfully continued.

If someone who set off early has gotten ahead of you, don't lose heart: tuck up your clothes and run after them.

The saying urges persistence when another person has gone ahead first. Falling behind is not treated as a reason to quit; quick, determined effort may still let the latecomer close the gap and catch up.

If you miss the first train, take another route.

The proverb advises against abandoning an aim merely because the earliest chance has been missed. A lost opening can still be followed by purposeful action that keeps the larger goal within reach.

If you do someone a kindness, see it through to the end.

A helpful act loses much of its value when it is abandoned halfway. The saying urges a person who has begun doing someone a favor to finish the task rather than leave the recipient without the promised benefit.

It's still your job, Saʿidi, even if it runs into tomorrow.

The saying insists that a responsibility does not dissolve because time ran out. Here bāt, literally 'spent the night,' describes unfinished work carrying over to the next day, not the worker sleeping somewhere. If the job is not done by nightfall, it remains yours the next morning; postponing it changes nothing.

The first burden is the hardest to lift.

Beginnings often feel disproportionately difficult because the task is still unfamiliar and the effort has not yet found its rhythm. The saying reassures someone that early strain does not necessarily predict lasting hardship.

Say it enough times and even a donkey will learn it.

The saying holds that persistent repetition can get a lesson into almost anyone's head. If something is said or practiced again and again, it eventually sticks, even for a learner who seems slow or unwilling to absorb it.