The Book of Praying for Rain (Al-Istisqa')

‘Amr ibn Sawwad ibn al-Aswad ibn ‘Amr narrated to us; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us; he said: Yunus informed me, from Ibn Shihab, who said: ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utbah informed me, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah, Mighty and Sublime, said: “I have never bestowed a blessing upon My servants without a group among them becoming ungrateful for it, saying, ‘The star; it was because of the star.’”

Qutaybah narrated to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from Salih ibn Kaysan, from ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdullah, from Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani, who said: It rained during the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) time, and he said: “Have you not heard what your Lord said last night? He said: ‘I have never bestowed a blessing upon My servants without some of them becoming ungrateful for it, saying, “We have been given rain by such-and-such a naw’.” As for the one who believes in Me and praises Me for My sending down rain, that person believes in Me and disbelieves in the star. But the one who says, “We have been given rain by such-and-such a naw’,” has disbelieved in Me and believed in the star.’”

‘Abd al-Jabbar ibn al-‘Ala’ narrated to us, from Sufyan, from ‘Amr, from ‘Attab ibn Hunayn, from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If Allah, Mighty and Sublime, were to withhold rain from His servants for five years and then send it, some people would become ungrateful, saying, ‘We have been given rain by the naw’ of al-Mijdah.’”

‘Ali ibn Hujr narrated to us; he said: Isma‘il narrated to us; he said: Humayd narrated to us, from Anas, who said: There was a year of drought without rain. On a Friday, some Muslims went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, there has been no rain, the land has become barren, and our property is perishing.” He raised his hands, though we could see no cloud in the sky, and stretched them out until I saw the whiteness of his armpits as he supplicated Allah, Mighty and Sublime, for rain. By the time we had finished the Friday prayer, even the young man whose home was nearby was concerned about returning to his family. The rain continued for a week. On the following Friday, they said, “O Messenger of Allah, houses have collapsed and travelers are held up.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled at how quickly the children of Adam grow weary, and gestured with his hands, saying, “O Allah, around us, not upon us.” The rain then dispersed away from Medina.

Mahmud ibn Khalid narrated to us; he said: Al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us; he said: Abu ‘Amr al-Awza‘i informed us, from Ishaq ibn ‘Abdullah, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: A year of drought struck the people during the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) time. As the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the Friday sermon from the pulpit, a Bedouin stood and said, “O Messenger of Allah, our property is perishing and our families are hungry. Pray to Allah for us.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands, though we could see no small patch of cloud in the sky. By the One in whose hand is my soul, he did not lower them until clouds like mountains had risen. He did not descend from his pulpit until I saw rain streaming down his beard. It rained that day, the next day, and the day after, until the following Friday. Then that Bedouin stood—or, he said, someone else—and said, “O Messenger of Allah, buildings have collapsed and property is flooded. Pray to Allah for us.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands and said, “O Allah, around us, not upon us.” Whenever he pointed his hand toward a part of the clouds, they parted, until Medina was like an opening in them. The valley flowed, and everyone who came from any direction reported abundant rain.