This prayer is taken recourse to when seeking rain from Allah
during times of drought. It may be performed in one of the
following manners:
-1- The imam prays, with the followers, two rak'at during
any time except those times in which it is not desirable to
pray. In the first rak'ah, the imam recites al-A'la after al-Fatihah.
And in the second rak'ah, he reads al-Ghashiyah after al-Fatihah,
and he delivers a khutbah before or after the salah. As soon
as he finishes the khutbah, the people present should turn
their outer garments around, each placing its left side on his
right side and its right side on his left, face the qiblah,
supplicate Allah and raise their hands while doing so.
Ibn 'Abbas reports: "The Messenger of Allah went out
[to make the salatul istisqa'] wearing old clothes, in a
humble and lowly manner, and prayed two rak'at as he prayed
the 'id, but he did not give a similar khutbah." This is
related by the five. At-Tirmizhi, Abu 'Awanah, and Ibn Hibban
grade it sahih.
'Aishah says: "The people complained to the Messenger
of Allah about lack of rain, so he gave orders for a pulpit,
and when it was set up for him, he appointed a day for the
people to gather. He came out on that day when the sun had
just appeared and sat down on the pulpit. He extolled Allah's
greatness and praised Him. Then he said: 'You have complained
of drought in your areas and of delay in receiving rain at the
beginning of its season, but you have been ordered by Allah to
supplicate Him and He has promised that He would answer your
prayers.' Then he said: 'All praise is for Allah, the
Compassionate, the Merciful, the King of the Day of Judgment.
There is no God but Allah Who does what He wishes. O Allah,
there is no God except Thee. You are the Self-sufficient and
we are the poor. Send down rain upon us and make it a source
of strength for us and satisfaction for us.' He then raised
his hands and kept raising them till the whiteness of his
armpits could be seen.
After this, he turned his back to the people and inverted
his cloak, keeping his hands raised. Finally, he faced the
people, descended from the pulpit, and prayed two rak'at. At
that time Allah produced a cloud, thunder, and lightning. And,
by Allah's permission, it rained and before he reached the
mosque there was flooding. Then he saw how quickly the people
were running for shelter, he laughed until his molar teeth
could be seen. He said: 'I bear witness that Allah has power
over all things and I am Allah's slave and Messenger.'"
This is related by al-Hakim who classifies it to be sahih and
by Abu Dawud who says: "This hadith is ghareeb and its
chain is good."
It is furthermore related from 'Ibad ibn Tamim from his
uncle 'Abdullah ibn Zaid al-Mazni that the Prophet sallallahu
alehi wasallam went out to pray salatul istisqa' and prayed
two rak'at reciting them aloud. This is related by the group.
And Abu Hurairah says: "The Prophet of Allah went out one
day to make salatul ishtisqa' and prayed two rak'at with us
without any azhan or iqamah. Then, he addressed us and
supplicated Allah and turned his face toward the qiblah, with
his hands raised. Next, he reversed his cloak, placing its
left side on his right side and its right side on his left
side." This is related by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and al-Baihaqi.
-2- The supplication for rain can also be made on the
occasion of salatul jumu'ah. In this case, the imam makes
supplications during khutbatul jumu'ah with the people of the
congregation saying (Ameen).
Al-Bukhari and Muslim record from Shuraik on the authority
of Anas that a man entered the mosque on Friday while the
Prophet was addressing the people. The man said: "O
Messenger of Allah, our wealth has been destroyed and we have
no transport to the market place. Supplicate for us for
rain." The Prophet raised his hands and said: "O
Allah, give us rain. O Allah, give us rain. O Allah, give us
rain." Anas said: "By Allah, at that time there were
no clouds in the sky and there was no house or building
between us and the mountain. From behind the mountain came a
cloud looking like a shield. By the time it reached the middle
of the sky, it burst and started to rain. By Allah, we did not
see the sun for one week. Then, on the next Friday, a man
entered the mosque from that (same) door while the Prophet was
making the address. The man faced the Prophet and said: 'Our
livestock is dead and the paths are unpassable. Ask Allah to
make it stop.' The Prophet raised his hands and said: 'O
Allah, around us and not upon us. O Allah, make it upon the
hills, small mountains, bottom of the valleys, and
plantations.' The rain stopped and we walked out in the
sunshine."
-3- One may also make a supplication (for rain) without it
being Friday and regardless of whether or not the prayer takes
place inside or outside the mosque. Ibn Majah and Abu 'Awanah
record that Ibn 'Abbas said: "A Bedouin came to the
Messenger of Allah and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I come to
you from a people whose shepherds do not have any fodder and
whose prize stallion cannot move its tail due to the
[drought].' The Prophet mounted the pulpit, praised Allah and
said: 'O Allah, give us saving rain which leads to something
good and which is productive - a general heavy rain - now and
not later.' Then, he descended from the pulpit. People came
from every direction saying that it was raining." This is
reported by Ibn Majah and Abu 'Awanah and its chain is sound,
but Ibn Hajar is silent about it in his Al-Talkhis.
Shurahbil ibn as-Simt said to Ka'b ibn Murrah: "O Ka'b,
relate to us something from the Messenger of Allah." Ka'b
said: "When a man came and said to the Prophet of Allah,
'Seek rain for the tribe of Muzhar,' I heard the Prophet say:
'You are a bold man. You want me to seek rain for the tribe of
Muzhar?' The man said: 'O Messenger of Allah, you have sought
victory from Allah and He gave you victory. You supplicated
Allah and He answered you.' The Messenger of Allah raised his
hands and said: 'O Allah, give us a saving rain, good and
productive, general and heavy, now and not later, beneficial
and not harmful.' Allah responded to his supplication. It was
not long before the people came complaining about the
profusion of rain, and damage to their dwellings. The
Messenger of Allah raised his hands and said: 'O Allah, around
us and not upon us.' The clouds began dispersing left and
right." This is related by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, al-Baihaqi,
Ibn Shaibah and al-Hakim. The later grades this hadith as
hasan sahih and holds that its chain meets the conditions of
al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Ash-Sha'biy says: "'Umar went out to make ishsqa' and
he did no more than seeking Allah's forgiveness. The people
said: 'We did not see you making ishsqa'.' He said: 'I sought
rain by what makes it descend (i.e., istighfar or seeking
forgiveness of Allah), unlike those (Arabs of days of
ignorance) who sought it by the stars of the sky.' Then, he
recited the following two 'ayat: 'Seek forgiveness of your
Lord. Lo! He is Ever-Forgiving. He will let loose the sky for
you in plenteous rain.' and: 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord,
and turn to Him (in repentance): He will send you the skies
pouring abundant rain.'" This is related by Abu Sa'id in
his Sunan, 'Abdurrazzaq, al-Baihaqi, and Ibn abi Shaibah.
The following are some of the supplications that have been
transmitted.
Ash-Shaf'i states that it has been related from Salim ibn
'Abdullah, on the authority of his father that the Prophet
would say for ishsqa': "O Allah, give us a saving rain,
productive, plentiful, general, continuous. O Allah, give us
rain and do not make us among the despondent. O Allah, (Your)
slaves, land, animals, and (Your) creation all are suffering
and seek protection. And we do not complain except to You. O
Allah, let our crops grow, and let the udders be refilled.
Give us from the blessings of the sky and grow for us from the
blessings of the earth. O Allah, remove from us the hardship,
starvation,and barrenness and remove the affliction from us as
no one removes afflictions save Thee. O Allah, we seek Your
forgiveness as You are the Forgiving, and send upon us
plenteous rains." Ash-Shaf'i said: "I prefer that
the imam would supplicate with that (prayer). "
Sa'd reported that for ishsqa', the Prophet would
supplicate: "O Allah, let us be covered with thick clouds
that have abundant and beneficial rain, frequently making a
light rain upon us and sprinkling upon us with lightning. O
Allah, You are full of majesty, bounty and Honour." This
is related by Abu 'Awanah in his Sahih.
'Amr ibn Shuaib relates from his father, on the authority
of his grandfather, that for istisqa', the Prophet would say:
"O Allah, provide water for Your slaves and Your cattle,
display Your mercy and give life to Your dead lands."
This is related by Abu Dawud.
It is preferred for the one who is making this supplication
to raise his hands with the back of his hands toward the sky.
Muslim records from Anas that the Prophet would point with the
back of his hands during ishsqa '.
It is also preferred, upon seeing the rain, to say: "O
Allah, make it a beneficial rain" and he should uncover
part of his body to the rain. On the other hand, if one fears
that there is too much rain, one should say: "O Allah
give us mercy and do not give us punishment, calamaties,
destruction or flooding. O Allah, make it upon the woods,
farms and trees. Make it around us and not upon us."
All of this is authentic and confirmed from the Prophet
sallallahu alehi wasallam.
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