the jizyah, we enter into a covenant of protection with him. This is because the hadith of Buraydah ibn al-Husayb, recorded in Sahih Muslim, mentions among the Prophet’s instructions, peace and blessings be upon him: “If you lay siege to the people of a fortress and they refuse Islam, then require the jizyah from them.” (1)
“He then leads them in prayer and delivers one sermon, opening it with the takbir, as in the Eid sermon, and frequently seeking forgiveness therein, …”
His statement, “He then leads them in prayer and delivers one sermon”: the subject is the imam. This indicates that the sermon is delivered after the prayer, as with Eid. However, the sunnah has been authentically established that the sermon may be delivered before the prayer (2), just as it has also been established that it may be delivered after the prayer (3).
Accordingly, the sermon for the prayer for rain may be delivered either before or after the prayer. But if he delivers the sermon before the prayer, he should not deliver another afterward; the two are not to be combined. Rather, he may deliver it either before or after.
In this respect, the prayer for rain differs from the Eid prayer in a number of ways, including: