What are the reasons for the lack of rain despite the prayer for rain?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : My master, what are the reasons for the lack of rain despite the prayer for rain that we perform, considering that whenever a group would go out in the days of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the rain would fall immediately? Please tell us 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 intend 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 pure and does not accept except that which is pure. And indeed, Allah commanded the believers with what He commanded the messengers, saying: O messengers, eat from the good things and do good. Before I complete the hadith, I want to remind you:[Al-Mu'minun 23:51] You are now eating from the good things, but this is not the intent of the hadith. The intent is from the lawful. Eat from lawful earnings. Indeed, Allah asked of His believing servants what He asked of His prophet-servants, the messengers, and He said: [Al-Mu'minun 23:51] Abu Hurayrah said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2989Sahih (Darussalam) Do you know what the reason is? Today, most traders deal in the forbidden, not only in riba (usury or interest). Allah knows best; in this group, there may be one or two, or 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, O 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 the forbidden? We leave dealing with banks, as we mentioned earlier. Do not sell what you do not have; this has no relation 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 response. Engaging in the causes of response is the greatest jihad now, and it is that every Muslim strives, each within the limits of his own work, and fears his Lord in this transaction, so that he does not earn except the 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 one goes 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 in brief, it is 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 paths of righteousness.
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 intend 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 pure and does not accept except that which is pure. And indeed, Allah commanded the believers with what He commanded the messengers, saying: O messengers, eat from the good things and do good. Before I complete the hadith, I want to remind you:
eat from the good foods
كلوا من الطّيّباتO messengers, eat from the good foods and work righteousness
يا أيّها الرّسل كلوا من الطيّبات و اعملوا صالحاa man: 'Who is undertaking a long journey, whose hair is dishevelled and he is covered with dust. He raises his hands to the heavens and says: "O Lord! O Lord!" Yet his food is from the unlawful, his drink is from the unlawful, his clothing is from the unlawful, and he was nourished by the unlawful. So how can that be accepted?'
الرّجل يطيل السّفر أشعث أغبر مأكله حرام و مشربه حرام و ملبسه حرام و غذّي بالحرام فأنّى يستجاب لذاكThe questioner : Yes, O 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 the forbidden? We leave dealing with banks, as we mentioned earlier. Do not sell what you do not have; this has no relation 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 response. Engaging in the causes of response is the greatest jihad now, and it is that every Muslim strives, each within the limits of his own work, and fears his Lord in this transaction, so that he does not earn except the 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 one goes 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 in brief, it is 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 paths of righteousness.