“…Every ʿaṭn is a mabrak, but not every mabrak is an ʿaṭn, for an ʿaṭn is the spot where the camels kneel only when they come to the water, whereas a mabrak is broader, being any place set aside for their kneeling under all circumstances.”

These two hadiths—and all reports of similar purport—demonstrate that it is unlawful to perform the prayer in places where camels habitually rest. This is the position of Ibn Ḥazm. It is related from Aḥmad that he said, “Whoever performs the prayer in a camel ʿaṭn must repeat it for the rest of his life.”

Mālik was asked about a person who finds no place to pray except a camel pen. He replied, “He is not to pray there.” It was further asked, “What if he spreads a cloth over the ground?” He answered, “Still he must not pray there.”

After citing the hadith of Abū Hurayrah, al-Tirmidhī remarked, “This is the practice among our teachers, and it is also the view of Aḥmad and Isḥāq.”

Al-Shawkānī said, “The majority interpret the prohibition as denoting reprehensibility (karāhah) when no impurity is present, and as outright prohibition when impurity is present. That, however, rests on the assumption that the underlying cause is impurity, which in turn depends on the impurity of camel urine and dung—a matter we have already addressed. Even if we were to concede that these are impure, it would still be unsound to treat impurity as the decisive cause; for if it were, there would be no distinction between camel pens and sheepfolds, whereas no one claims a difference between the droppings and urine of the two species, as al-ʿIrāqī pointed out. Moreover, some have said that the ruling is simple prohibition…"