The Status of the Prayer for Rain and Negligence in Attending It

Question:
The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, is the prayer for rain obligatory, or is it a confirmed recommended practice? We ask you to clarify its virtue, because many people are lax in performing the prayer and do not attend it.

Answer:
The prayer for rain is a recommended practice, a time-bound recommended practice; it is not obligatory. People need it, people need it, because of the withholding of rain, the scarcity of days, and the occurrence of harm. The prayer for rain is a recommended practice, a recommended practice that is not obligatory, and people need it, people need it, because of the withholding of rain, the scarcity of days, and the occurrence of many diseases due to the withholding of rain. So they need to seek rain and supplicate to Allah the Exalted and Majestic. It becomes emphasized for the Muslims to go out for the prayer for rain, to supplicate to their Lord, and to repent, to repent from sins and transgressions, so that perhaps Allah will accept their repentance and accept from them.
He is in need of supplicating to Allah , and He the Exalted and Majestic said: "Call upon Me" . As for those who delay in attending the prayer for the eclipse, they fall into one of two categories. Either it is laziness on their part and indifference to the conditions of the Muslims, which is not permissible. The Muslim, the Muslim in the lands of the Muslims, is concerned with what concerns him, harmed by what harms him, and pleased by what pleases him. So it is obligatory for him. If he is wealthy and claims to be wealthy and that he is not in need of the grave, there are among his brothers poor people who are in need of the grave. The Muslims are like one body; if one part complains, the rest of the body responds with fever and sleeplessness. This is one category. The second category is that he may not regard the prayer for rain seriously and mock it. This is not far-fetched, because some of them abandon the obligatory prayer, they abandon the five prayers and do not pray. So it is not surprising that he abandons the prayer for rain. If he abandons the five prayers, it is not surprising that he abandons the prayer for rain. But this, if Allah wills, is not common among the Muslims; this is a small group among the Muslims.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you