In the past, when a drought occurred, the people of the village would take a ram, slaughter it outside the village, and call upon Allah to send them relief.

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: In our country, in the past, when a drought occurred, the people of the village would take a ram and walk with it to the outskirts of the village, to its high points, and slaughter it. They call this *takarrum* (a form of seeking favor), and they call upon Allah to send them relief. Is this action a religious innovation (bid'ah) or associating partners with Allah (shirk)?

Answer:
This is from the practices of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah). These people take a ram, but some take a camel or a cow, which is larger than a ram, and they take it to a mountain and slaughter it. They call this *istighathah* (calling for aid) or *istisqa'* (prayer for rain). This is shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah the Exalted and Majestic, and it is an invented innovation, because they worshipped Allah in a manner He did not prescribe. Allah did not prescribe seeking rain in this manner. Seeking rain is done through prayer, supplication, and humility before Allah the Exalted and Majestic. Yes.