The evidence for this is the report authentically recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): “A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was delivering the Friday sermon, and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, wealth has perished and buildings have collapsed, so pray to Allah to withhold it from us.’” He did not pray to Allah to stop it altogether; rather, he prayed that it would continue in a manner that caused no harm. He said: “O Allah, around us and not upon us …,” and so forth. (1)

His statement, “O Allah,” is a form of address in which the vocative particle has been omitted and replaced with the letter mīm. The mīm was not placed at the beginning of the word, so that the word would begin with the name of Allah as a blessing; rather, it was placed at its end, because the mīm indicates plurality—as though the supplicant has gathered his heart wholly upon Allah, glorified and exalted is He.

His statement, “around us,” means: Send it down around us—that is, around the city.

The word “around us” is treated grammatically like a dual noun, since it takes the accusative ending with yā’ in place of fatḥah, even though it does not denote two; rather, it denotes one thing: our surroundings.

His statement, “and not upon us,” means: not upon the city, which was feared might collapse because of the abundance of rain.

“O Allah, upon the hillocks, the small hills, the valleys, and the places where trees grow. Our Lord, do not burden us with that for which we have no strength to bear,” to the end of the verse.

His statement, “O Allah, upon the hillocks,” refers to low rises: elevated areas of land, though not soaring heights. This is because vegetation grows more quickly on elevated ground, as it is exposed to the sun and air, and is therefore more suitable.