prayer in camel enclosures. It is therefore clear that this was not because their droppings are ritually impure. Rather, it was akin to his command to perform ablution after eating camel meat, whereas concerning sheep meat he said:
“If you wish, perform ablution, and if you wish, do not.”
He also said:
“Camels were created from jinn, and atop every camel is a devil.”
And he said:
“Pride and arrogance are found among the boisterous camel owners, while tranquility is found among those who tend sheep.”
Since camels possess satanic qualities that Allah and His Messenger dislike, he commanded ablution after eating their meat, for this extinguishes those satanic qualities. He prohibited prayer in their enclosures because they are places where devils dwell, just as he prohibited prayer in bathhouses because they are places where devils dwell. Places inhabited by foul spirits are all the more deserving of being avoided for prayer, as are places containing foul substances. Indeed, foul spirits love foul substances.
This is why latrines are frequented by devils. Prayer in them is even more deserving of prohibition than prayer in bathhouses, camel enclosures, or on ritually impure ground. No specific text was transmitted concerning latrines, because the matter was too obvious to Muslims to require explanation. Thus, no Muslim would sit in latrines or pray in them, and they would go out into the open country to relieve themselves