by a camel whose back had all but stuck to its belly. He said, “Fear Allah with regard to these speechless beasts (1): ride them when they are sound, and eat them when they are sound.” Reported by Abū Dāwūd with a sound chain.
974 – Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: One day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mounted me behind him and whispered a statement to me that I shall divulge to no one. The screen he preferred most when attending to his need (2) was a small rise of earth (hadaf) or a thick cluster of palms—that is, a walled palm-grove. Reported by Muslim in this abridged form.
Al-Barqānī, transmitting through Muslim’s chain, adds after the words “a cluster of palms”: He entered an orchard belonging to one of the Anṣār, and inside it was a camel. When the camel saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ it let out a groan (3) and its eyes overflowed with tears. The Prophet ﷺ approached it and stroked along its crest—that is, its hump—and its dhibrā, whereupon it became calm. He then said, “Who is the owner of this camel? Whose camel is this?” A young man from the Anṣār came forward and said, “It is mine, Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Will you not fear Allah concerning this beast that Allah has placed in your care? It has just complained to me that you keep it hungry and overwork it.” Reported by Abū Dāwūd in the same wording as al-Barqānī’s narration.
His phrase “dhibrāhu” is read with a kasrah on the dāl and a silent fāʾ; it is a singular feminine noun. Linguists say that al-dhibrā is the place behind a camel’s ear where it sweats. His words “tudhnibuhu” mean “you tire it out.”
975 – Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whenever we halted at a campsite, we would not perform any supererogatory prayer until we had unloaded the baggage. Reported by Abū Dāwūd with a chain that meets Muslim’s criteria.
His statement “we would not glorify (nusabbiḥ)” means: we would not offer optional prayer. The sense is that, keen as we were to pray, we still gave priority to unloading the packs and letting the animals rest.