The Shaykh : The prayer for rain has multiple characteristics. One of them is that the imam asks for rain on Friday during the Friday sermon. This is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in what Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
A man entered on Friday while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon. He said: O Messenger of Allah, the wealth has been destroyed and the paths have been cut off – he (may Allah be pleased with him) began with the cause of the question before the question – he said: the wealth has been destroyed and the paths have been cut off, so call upon Allah to relieve us. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands and the people raised their hands with him. And he said: O Allah, relieve us, three times. Anas said: – and he is the narrator of the hadith – By Allah, there was no cloud in the sky nor a qaz'ah
أن رجلاً دخل يوم الجمعة والنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يخطب. فقال يا رسول الله : هلكت الأموال وانقطعت السبل - فبدأ رضي الله عنه بدأ بسبب السؤال قبل السؤال - قال : هلكت الأموال وانقطعت السبل، فادع الله يغيثنا. فرفع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يديه ورفع الناس أيديهم معه. وقال : اللهم أغثنا ثلاث مرات. قال أنس: - وهو راوي الحديث - فوالله ما في السماء من سحاب ولا قزعة
. A qaz'ah is a piece of cloud. So the sky was completely clear.
And between us and Sulayman – which is a mountain known in Madinah to this day by this name – there is no house or dwelling
وما بيننا وبين سلع - وهو جبل معروف في المدينة إلى الآن بهذا الاسم - من بيت ولا دار
. This was mentioned because the clouds come from the direction of this mountain. He says:
So a cloud emerged from behind him like a shield. – A shield: what a warrior uses to protect himself from spears. It means it resembles a shield. – So it rose in the sky. When it reached the middle, it spread and thundered and flashed. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not descend from the pulpit until the rain was pouring down from his beard
فخرجت من ورائه سحابة مثل الترس. - الترس: ما يتوقى به المجاهد من الرماح. يعني يشبه التبس -. فارتفعت في السماء. لما توسطت انتشرت ورعدت وبرقت. فما نزل النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم من المنبر إلا والمطر يتحادر من لحيته
. There is no god but Allah! It rained and the roof of the mosque collapsed. It flowed over the head of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And the rain began to pour down on his beard. Was the duration long or short? Short. Yes, because Allah the Exalted
His command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, "Be," and it is.
إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئاً أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ
And Our command is but one, like a glance of the eye.
وَمَا أَمْرُنَا إِلاَّ وَاحِدَةٌ كَلَمْحٍ بِالْبَصَرِ
. And the rain began to fall for a full week. They did not see the sun, by night or by day. So when the next Friday came, a man, or the first man, entered and said:
O Messenger of Allah, buildings have been destroyed and wealth has drowned; pray to Allah (SWT) for us.
يا رسول الله: تهدم البناء وغرق المال فادع الله يمسكها عنا . The buildings collapsed due to the heavy rains, and the wealth was drowned due to the heavy rains. So call upon Allah to hold it back from us. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made a supplication. But he did not supplicate for Allah to hold it back; rather, he supplicated with a beneficial, non-harmful supplication. He said:
'O Allah! Round about us and not on us. O Allah!' On the plateaus, on the mountains, on the hills, in the valleys and on the places where trees grow.'
اللهم حوالينا ولا علينا. اللهم على الآكام والظراب وبطون الأودية ومنابت الشجر . And he pointed with his hand like this. Anas says:
So wherever he pointed, it dispersed
فما يشير إلى ناحية إلا انفرجت
By whose command? By the command of Allah Mighty and Majestic. Not by the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Rather, he says: around us the clouds disperse. We say by the command of Allah. And it is known that it could be by the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah could have subjected the clouds for him as He subjected the wind for Sulayman. Allah subjected the wind for Sulayman. He would place the carpet and sit with his retinue. Then he would command the wind, and it would blow as a strong storm but without anxiety:
So We subjected to him the wind blowing by his command
فَسَخَّرْنَا لَهُ الرِّيحَ تَجْرِي بِأَمْرِهِ
What?
gently, wherever he directed,
رُخَاءً حَيْثُ أَصَابَ
where He willed ease
its morning [journey was that of] a month - and its afternoon [journey was that of] a month
غُدُوُّهَا شَهْرٌ وَرَوَاحُهَا شَهْرٌ
. But the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), Muhammad the Messenger of Allah, did not say to the clouds: disperse. So that we could say: this is by his command. Rather, he supplicated to Allah, saying:
Around us, not upon us
حوالينا ولا علينا
. So the One who dispersed them is the One who gathered them, and that is Allah Mighty and Majestic. And the people went out walking in the sun. Exalted is Allah. And the valley flowed like a channel for a month. A channel in the valley in Madinah with this name to this day. It flowed for a full month of rain. So glory be to Allah Mighty and Majestic! This is one type of the types of prayer for rain, this is one type of the types of prayer for rain.
