Seeking rain from the living righteous is done only through their supplication.

The point here is that it is well known that Mālik was among the most knowledgeable people concerning such issues. Living in Madinah, he witnessed the practices of the Successors and their followers and heard what they reported from the Companions and the leading Successors. Yet he forbade standing at the grave to make supplication, noting that the earliest generations never did so. When drought struck during the caliphate of ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him), ʿUmar sought rain through al-ʿAbbās.

In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Anas relates: “ʿUmar sought rain through al-ʿAbbās and said, ‘O Allah, whenever drought afflicted us we used to beseech You by our Prophet and You would send us rain; now we beseech You by the uncle of our Prophet, so send us rain.’ And they were given rain.”

They sought rain through him just as they had through the Prophet ﷺ during his lifetime—that is, by means of his supplication and intercession: he would pray for them and they would pray with him, like an imam with his congregation. They were not swearing an oath upon Allah by a created being, just as it is impermissible for them to swear upon one another by a created being. After the Prophet ﷺ passed away, they sought rain through the supplication of al-ʿAbbās and Allah sent rain.

For this reason the jurists said: it is recommended to seek rain through living people known for righteousness and piety, and it is preferable that the person be from the Prophet’s household ﷺ. Muʿāwiyah once sought rain through Yazīd ibn al-Aswad al-Jurashī and said, “O Allah, we seek rain through Yazīd ibn al-Aswad—Yazīd, raise …”