The ruling on discouraging the prayer for rain on the grounds of the presence of sins
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, some people discourage the prayer for rain, saying: How can we ask for rain when we are still in our sins?
Answer:
I seek refuge in Allah. This is worse than the sins. This is despair of the mercy of Allah. You call upon Allah even if you are in sins, my brother. You call upon Allah even if you are in sins. Do not despair of the mercy of Allah.[Az-Zumar 39:53]. The prayer for rain is seeking forgiveness, my brother. [Nuh 71:10] Noah (peace be upon him) said to his people, and Hud said: [Hud 11:52].
And the eclipse prayer is repentance. The prayer for rain is repentance and seeking forgiveness. Do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, some people discourage the prayer for rain, saying: How can we ask for rain when we are still in our sins?
Answer:
I seek refuge in Allah. This is worse than the sins. This is despair of the mercy of Allah. You call upon Allah even if you are in sins, my brother. You call upon Allah even if you are in sins. Do not despair of the mercy of Allah.
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins.
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًاAnd said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver.
فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًاAnd O my people, ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in showers and increase you in strength [added] to your strength.
وَيَا قَوْمِ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًا وَيَزِدْكُمْ قُوَّةً إِلَىٰ قُوَّتِكُمْAnd the eclipse prayer is repentance. The prayer for rain is repentance and seeking forgiveness. Do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [3436/2760] حكم التزهيد في صلاة الاستسقاء بحجة وجود الذنوب - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.