Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 3783
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ الأَزْهَرِ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَنْبَأَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " مَثَلُ الْقُرْآنِ مَثَلُ الإِبِلِ الْمُعَقَّلَةِ إِنْ تَعَاهَدَهَا صَاحِبُهَا بِعُقُلِهَا أَمْسَكَهَا عَلَيْهِ وَإِنْ أَطْلَقَ عُقُلَهَا ذَهَبَتْ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘The Qur’an is like camels kept tethered. If their owner regularly tends to them and keeps them tied, he will retain them; but if he lets their tethers loose, they will wander off.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The verb conveys repeatedly tending to or checking on the camels, in addition to keeping them secured by their tethers.