Invoking Allah for Rain (Istisqaa)
كتاب الاستسقاء
Chapter 1: Going out of the Prophet (pbuh) to offer Istisqa' prayer
The Prophet (p.b.u.h) went out to offer the Istisqa' prayer and turned (and put on) his cloak inside out.
Chapter 2: Invocation of the Prophet (pbuh)
Whenever the Prophet (p.b.u.h) lifted his head from the bowing in the last rak`a he used to say: "O Allah! Save `Aiyash bin Abi Rabi`a. O Allah! Save Salama bin Hisham. O Allah! Save Walid bin Walid. O Allah! Save the weak faithful believers. O Allah! Be hard on the tribes of Mudar and send (famine) years on them like the famine years of (Prophet) Joseph ." The Prophet (ﷺ) further said, "Allah forgive the tribes of Ghifar and save the tribes of Aslam." Abu Az-Zinad (a sub-narrator) said, "The Qunut used to be recited by the Prophet (ﷺ) in the Fajr prayer."
We were with `Abdullah and he said, "When the Prophet (ﷺ) saw the refusal of the people to accept Islam he said, "O Allah! Send (famine) years on them for (seven years) like the seven years (of famine during the time) of (Prophet) Joseph." So famine overtook them for one year and destroyed every kind of life to such an extent that the people started eating hides, carcasses and rotten dead animals. Whenever one of them looked towards the sky, he would (imagine himself to) see smoke because of hunger. So Abu Sufyan went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Muhammad! You order people to obey Allah and to keep good relations with kith and kin. No doubt the people of your tribe are dying, so please pray to Allah for them." So Allah revealed: "Then watch you For the day that The sky will bring forth a kind Of smoke Plainly visible ... Verily! You will return (to disbelief) On the day when We shall seize You with a mighty grasp. (44.10-16) Ibn Mas`ud added, "Al-Batsha (i.e. grasp) happened in the battle of Badr and no doubt smoke, Al-Batsha, Al-Lizam, and the verse of Surat Ar-Rum have all passed .
Chapter 3: Request of the people to the Imam to offer the Istisqa' prayer
My father said, "I heard Ibn `Umar reciting the poetic verses of Abu Talib: And a white (person) (i.e. the Prophet) who is requested to pray for rain and who takes care of the orphans and is the guardian of widows." Salim's father (Ibn `Umar) said, "The following poetic verse occurred to my mind while I was looking at the face of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) while he was praying for rain. He did not get down till the rain water flowed profusely from every roof-gutter: And a white (person) who is requested to pray for rain and who takes care of the orphans and is the guardian of widows . . . And these were the words of Abu Talib."
Whenever drought threatened them, `Umar bin Al-Khattab, used to ask Al-Abbas bin `Abdul Muttalib to invoke Allah for rain. He used to say, "O Allah! We used to ask our Prophet to invoke You for rain, and You would bless us with rain, and now we ask his uncle to invoke You for rain. O Allah ! Bless us with rain."(1) And so it would rain.
Chapter 4: Turning cloak inside out while offering the Istisqa' prayer
The Prophet (ﷺ) turned his cloak inside out on Istisqa.
The Prophet (ﷺ) went towards the Musalla and invoked Allah for rain. He faced the Qibla and wore his cloak inside out, and offered two rak`at.
Chapter 5: The taking of revenge by Allah over His creatures by drought
Chapter 6: Istisqa' in the main mosque (of the town)
I heard Anas bin Malik saying, "On a Friday a person entered the main Mosque through the gate facing the pulpit while Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was delivering the Khutba. The man stood in front of Allah's Apostle and said, 'O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! The livestock are dying and the roads are cut off; so please pray to Allah for rain.' " Anas added, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (p.b.u.h) raised both his hands and said, 'O Allah! Bless us with rain! O Allah! Bless us with rain! O Allah! Bless us with rain!' " Anas added, "By Allah, we could not see any trace of cloud in the sky and there was no building or a house between us and (the mountains of) Sila." Anas added, "A heavy cloud like a shield appeared from behind it (i.e. Sila' Mountain). When it came in the middle of the sky, it spread and then rained." Anas further said, "By Allah! We could not see the sun for a week. Next Friday a person entered through the same gate and at that time Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was delivering the Friday's Khutba. The man stood in front of him and said, 'O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! The livestock are dying and the roads are cut off, please pray to Allah to withhold rain.' " Anas added, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I raised both his hands and said, 'O Allah! Round about us and not on us. O Allah! On the plateaus, on the mountains, on the hills, in the valleys and on the places where trees grow.' So the rain stopped and we came out walking in the sun." Sharik asked Anas whether it was the same person who had asked for the rain (the last Friday). Anas replied that he did not know.
Chapter 7: To invoke Allah for rain in the Khutba of Friday facing a direction other than the Qiblah
Anas bin Malik said, "A person entered the Mosque on a Friday through the gate facing the Daril- Qada' and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was standing delivering the Khutba (sermon). The man stood in front of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, 'O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), livestock are dying and the roads are cut off; please pray to Allah for rain.' So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (p.b.u.h) raised both his hands and said, 'O Allah! Bless us with rain. O Allah! Bless us with rain. O Allah! Bless us with rain!" Anas added, "By Allah, there were no clouds in the sky and there was no house or building between us and the mountain of Sila'. Then a big cloud like a shield appeared from behind it (i.e. Silas Mountain) and when it came in the middle of the sky, it spread and then rained. By Allah! We could not see the sun for a week. The next Friday, a person entered through the same gate and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was delivering the Friday Khutba and the man stood in front of him and said, 'O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! The livestock are dying and the roads are cut off; Please pray to Allah to withhold rain.' " Anas added, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) raised both his hands and said, 'O Allah! Round about us and not on us. O Allah!' On the plateaus, on the mountains, on the hills, in the valleys and on the places where trees grow.' " Anas added, "The rain stopped and we came out, walking in the sun." Sharik asked Anas whether it was the same person who had asked for rain the previous Friday. Anas replied that he did not know.
Chapter 8: Istisqa' (to invoke Allah for the rain) on the pulpit
Anas I said, "While Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (p.b.u.h) was delivering the Friday Khutba (sermon) a man came and said, 'O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Rain is scarce; please ask Allah to bless us with rain.' So he invoked Allah for it, and it rained so much that we could hardly reach our homes and it continued raining till the next Friday." Anas further said, "Then the same or some other person stood up and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Invoke Allah to withhold the rain.' On that, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I said, 'O Allah! Round about us and not on us.' " Anas added, "I saw the clouds dispersing right and left and it continued to rain but not over Medina."
Chapter 9: Whoever To invoke Allah for rain in the Jumu'ah prayer
A man came to the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and said, "Livestock are destroyed and the roads are cut off." So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) invoked Allah for rain and it rained from that Friday till the next Friday. The same person came again and said, "Houses have collapsed, roads are cut off, and the livestock are destroyed. Please pray to Allah to withhold the rain." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (stood up and) said, "O Allah! (Let it rain) on the plateaus, on the hills, in the valleys and over the places where trees grow." So the clouds cleared away from Medina as clothes are taken off .
Chapter 10: Invocation (for stoppage of rain)
A man came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Livestock are destroyed and the roads are cut off. So please invoke Allah." So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) prayed and it rained from that Friday to the next Friday. Then he came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Houses have collapsed, roads are cut off and the livestock are destroyed." So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (p.b.u.h) prayed, "O Allah! (Let it rain) on the tops of mountains, on the plateaus, in the valleys and over the places where trees grow." So the clouds cleared away from Medina as clothes are taken off.
Chapter 11: The saying that "The Prophet (pbuh) did not turn his cloak inside out during the invocation for rain on Friday."
I p man complained to the Prophet (ﷺ) about the destruction of livestock and property and the hunger of the offspring. So he invoked (Allah for rain. The narrator (Anas) did not mention that the Prophet (ﷺ) had worn his cloak inside out or faced the Qibla.
Chapter 12: If the people request the Imam to invoke Allah for rain, the Imam should not refuse
A man came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Livestock are destroyed and the roads are cut off; so please invoke Allah." So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) prayed for rain and it rained from that Friday till the next Friday. Then a man came to the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! The houses have collapsed, roads are cut off and the livestock are destroyed." So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "O Allah ! (Let it rain) on the tops of the mountains, on the plateaus, in the valleys and over the places where trees grow." So the clouds cleared away from Medina as clothes are taken off.
Chapter 13: If Al-Mushrikun intercede the Muslim to invoke Allah for rain during drought
One day I went to Ibn Mas`ud who said, "When Quraish delayed in embracing Islam, the Prophet (ﷺ) I invoked Allah to curse them, so they were afflicted with a (famine) year because of which many of them died and they ate the carcasses and Abu Sufyan came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, 'O Muhammad! You came to order people to keep good relation with kith and kin and your nation is being destroyed, so invoke Allah I ? So the Prophet (ﷺ) I recited the Holy verses of Sirat-Ad-Dukhan: 'Then watch you For the day that The sky will Bring forth a kind Of smoke Plainly visible.' (44.10) When the famine was taken off, the people renegade once again as nonbelievers. The statement of Allah, (in Sura "Ad- Dukhan"-44) refers to that: 'On the day when We shall seize You with a mighty grasp.' (44.16) And that was what happened on the day of the battle of Badr." Asbath added on the authority of Mansur, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) prayed for them and it rained heavily for seven days. So the people complained of the excessive rain. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'O Allah! (Let it rain) around us and not on us.' So the clouds dispersed over his head and it rained over the surroundings."
Chapter 14: To say, "Around us and not on us." when it rains excessively
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I was delivering the Khutba (sermon) on a Friday when the people stood up, shouted and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! There is no rain (drought), the trees have dried and the livestock are destroyed; Please pray to Allah for rain." So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said twice, "O Allah! Bless us with rain." By Allah, there was no trace of cloud in the sky and suddenly the sky became overcast with clouds and it started raining. The Prophet (ﷺ) came down the pulpit and offered the prayer. When he came back from the prayer (to his house) it was raining and it rained continuously till the next Friday. When the Prophet started delivering the Friday Khutba (sermon), the people started shouting and said to him, "The houses have collapsed and the roads are cut off; so please pray to Allah to withhold the rain." So the Prophet (ﷺ) smiled and said, "O Allah! Round about us and not on us." So the sky became clear over Medina but it kept on raining over the outskirts (of Medina) and not a single drop of rain fell over Median. I looked towards the sky which was as bright and clear as a crown.
Chapter 15: To invoke Allah for rain while standing
Narrated 'Abdullah bin Yazid Al-Ansari that he went out with Al-Bara' bin 'Azib, and Zaid bin Arqam and invoked for rain. He ('Abdullah bin Yazid) stood up but not on a pulpit and invoked Allah for rain and then offered two Rak'a prayers with loud recitation without pronouncing Adhan or Iqama. Abu Ishaq said that 'Adbullah bin Yazid had seen the Prophet (ﷺ) (doing the same)
that his uncle (who was one of the companions of the Prophet) had told him, "The Prophet (ﷺ) went out with the people to invoke Allah for rain for them. He stood up and invoked Allah for rain, then faced the Qibla and turned his cloak (inside out) and it rained."