Abu Dawud

Benefits and Issues:
In our villages, some people refer to the ‘Isha prayer as the “sleeping prayer,” the Zuhr prayer as “peshi” or “peesh” (the first), and the Asr prayer as “deegar” (the second).
But the meaning of this statement is that the Shari‘ah terms related to matters of faith should be predominant and commonly used, and should not be overcome by local custom.

543. Commentary:

➊ In the narration from the previous chapter, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) himself used the term ‘Atamah, whereas in these two narrations, it has been prohibited. Therefore, either the first narration is from before the prohibition, or saying ‘Atamah is permissible but not preferable, i.e., it is disliked in the sense of tanzih (makruh tanzihi), because in the Noble Qur’an, the explicit name for this prayer is ‘Isha. If the name is changed, then the rulings of the ‘Isha prayer would become ambiguous.

➋ The Bedouins (A‘rab) did not suffice with only calling ‘Isha as ‘Atamah, but they also referred to the Maghrib prayer as ‘Isha. This is absolutely incorrect, because then the rulings of the ‘Isha prayer would apply to Maghrib, and this would create much confusion. Referring to ‘Isha as ‘Atamah is based on a descriptive quality, so there is some leniency in this, but calling Maghrib ‘Isha is absolutely incorrect.

➌ By A‘rab is meant those people who lived isolated in the desert, far from cities and settlements, and were averse to their culture. They are also called Bedouins. These people were experts in eloquence, rhetoric, and the pure Arabic language.

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
HALAB:
This is a verbal noun and means extracting milk from the udder.

Benefits and Issues:
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam generally forbade calling the ‘Isha prayer by the name “Atamah” so that this name would not become its predominant designation. However, he did not prohibit occasionally referring to it as “Atamah.” For this reason, on some occasions, he himself referred to ‘Isha as “Atamah,” and he also explained the reason for this naming: that the Bedouins, since they delay in milking their camels and this task extends into the darkness, therefore call it “Atamah.” He instructed not to start calling it “Atamah” along with them, lest the name “‘Isha” be abandoned or become overshadowed.

It is stated in the Noble Qur’an:
﴿وَمِن بَعْدِ صَلَاةِ الْعِشَاءِ﴾ ( an-Nur: 58)

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
هُمْ يُعْتِمَونُ بِالْاِبِل:
They delay (their activity) with the camels until darkness falls in order to milk them.
‘Atamah refers to the darkness of the night.

Commentary:
(1)
In the Noble Qur’an, the ‘Isha prayer is mentioned by its name where the command is given that after the ‘Isha prayer, even children and slaves should seek permission before entering the house and room. (: Surah An-Nur: 57)
The Bedouins began to call the Maghrib prayer ‘Isha, and the ‘Isha prayer ‘Atamah.
There was a risk that people might misunderstand this command as referring to the Maghrib prayer instead of ‘Isha; therefore, it is not correct to alter the legal terminology in such a way that it could lead to misunderstanding.

(2)
‘Atamah refers to darkness; since those people used to milk their she-camels quite late in the evening, that is, after it had become dark, they began to call the ‘Isha prayer ‘Atamah.
In some ahadith, the ‘Isha prayer is also mentioned by the name ‘Atamah, so this prohibition should be considered as one of dislike (tanzih), meaning that it is better to avoid calling ‘Isha ‘Atamah. And Allah knows best.

Benefit:
From this hadith, it is established that the names of the prayers were also given through revelation, and they should be called only by their original names. Common people make every possible effort to change the terminology of Islam according to their own environment. For example, nowadays, the ‘Isha prayer is called the “sleep” prayer, the Zuhr prayer is called the “pre-lunch” prayer, and the Asr prayer is called the “afternoon” prayer. This is not correct.

In the time of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), some people began to call the ‘Isha prayer by the name “Atamah” instead of its original name, so the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade them from doing so. Even today, there is a need to rebuke common people for their bad habits and to obligate them to adhere strictly to the Qur’an and Hadith.