What are the reasons for the lack of rain despite the prayer for rain?

The questioner : My master, what are the reasons for the lack of rain despite the prayer for rain that we perform? We know that in the days of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Rightly Guided Caliphs, whenever a group would go out, the rain would fall immediately. So please, what are the reasons for the lack of rain?

The Shaykh : Because this group is not that group. What else do you want to know? Your question reminds us of the fundamental cause for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) not responding to the aid of His Muslim servants, and I did not want to say His believing servants. There is a hadith in Sahih Muslim from the narration of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: إنّ الله طيّب و لا يقبل إلاّ طيّبا و إنّ الله أمر المؤمنين بما أمر به المرسلين فقال: يا أيّها الرّسل كلوا من الطّيّبات و اعملوا صالحا Indeed, Allah is good and accepts nothing but what is good, and indeed, Allah commanded the believers with what He commanded the messengers, saying: O messengers, eat from the good things and do righteous deeds. Before I finish reading the hadith, I want to remind you: You are now eating from good things, but this is not the intent of the hadith. The intent is from lawful earnings. Eat from lawful earnings. Indeed, Allah asked of His believing servants what He asked of His sent prophets, saying: Abu Hurayrah said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned Do you know what the reason is? Today, most traders deal in what is forbidden, not only in riba (usury or interest). Allah knows best. This group, perhaps there is one or two, perhaps one or two in the group, who say, "I know one or two traders who do not deal with banks," or perhaps these are not present. Do you see how widespread the calamity is?

The questioner : Yes, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : All traders now, and the wider their trade, the wider their dealings with banks. So how will these people be answered when their food is forbidden, their drink is forbidden, their clothing is forbidden, and they are nourished by what is forbidden? We leave dealing with banks, as we mentioned earlier: do not sell what you do not have. This is not related to dealing with banks, but it contradicts the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law). He sells what he does not have, he cheats, he betrays, and so on, of transactions that contradict the Shari'ah. If the reason for the lack of response to the supplication is that we are not worthy of the supplication being answered, what must we do? We must engage in the causes of the response. Engaging in the causes of the response is the greatest jihad now, and it is that every Muslim should strive, each within the limits of his own work, and fear his Lord in this transaction, so that he does not earn except what is lawful. When the majority of Muslims are like this, then the sinner will go by the intercession of the good Muslims. Now the situation is reversed: the pious person will go by the ill omen of the sin of the overwhelming majority. This is the reason for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) not responding to the aid of His Muslim servants, and it is, in brief, their turning away from applying the rulings of the Shari'ah in their souls. And we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to guide us to the path of righteousness.