Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 704
حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الصَّبَّاحِ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي لَبِيدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَقُولُ " لاَ تَغْلِبَنَّكُمُ الأَعْرَابُ عَلَى اسْمِ صَلاَتِكُمْ فَإِنَّهَا الْعِشَاءُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيُعْتِمُونَ بِالإِبِلِ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn 'Ammar and Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah narrated to us; they said: Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah narrated to us, from 'Abdullah ibn Abi Labid, from Abu Salamah, from Ibn 'Umar, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘Do not let the Bedouins prevail over you in naming your prayer; it is al-'Isha (the night prayer), while they wait until deep night to settle their camels.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final clause literally refers to their delaying/letting the camels settle at night; the contrast concerns the prayer's name.
وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيُعْتِمُونَ بِالإِبِلِ
The phrase about the Bedouins and camels is idiomatic and its precise implication is uncertain.
Does the clause describe delaying the prayer until the camels are settled after dark?