The Prayer for Rain in the Presence of Evil
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, many young people are indifferent to performing the prayer for rain. They say that one must abandon the evils in society before the prayer, and then ask for rain. As for praying while these evils exist and continue, they say it is a waste of time, or even a mockery. I have advised them
Answer:
We ask Allah for well-being. This is the word of Allah. The prayer for rain is a Prophetic recommended practice (sunnah) performed when there is a need, and we do not despair or hold back. Even if we have sins and disobedience, we do not hold back from the mercy of Allah.[Az-Zumar 39:53] If only the good, righteous people who have no sins were to ask for rain, it would not benefit them regarding the rain. Those who have no sins would say, "A group of people benefits from the rain." We ask Allah for well-being.
[Al-A'raf 7:96] And when we are in a state of being sinners. So one does not approach the mercy of Allah, nor does one refrain from supplication and asking for rain, along with repentance to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. There is no doubt that repentance is required, but we do not leave the prayer and neglect the mercy of Allah, and we say to people, "You have no supplication and no [rain]." This is a false statement.
Honorable Shaykh, many young people are indifferent to performing the prayer for rain. They say that one must abandon the evils in society before the prayer, and then ask for rain. As for praying while these evils exist and continue, they say it is a waste of time, or even a mockery. I have advised them
Answer:
We ask Allah for well-being. This is the word of Allah. The prayer for rain is a Prophetic recommended practice (sunnah) performed when there is a need, and we do not despair or hold back. Even if we have sins and disobedience, we do not hold back from the mercy of Allah.
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah.
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِAnd if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven
وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَىٰ آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَرَكَاتٍ مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب الهبة — islamhouse.com (58:56)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.