• qalaba ridāʾahu (he turned his cloak): with a light lām. Turning the cloak means to invert it so that the side that had been against the body is now uppermost, purposely shifting what had been on the right shoulder to the left and the left to the right.
• raʿadat (it thundered): one says raʿada as-saḥāb raʿdan—on the pattern of qatala—and ruʿūdan. Thunder is the booming sound that follows a lightning flash.
• baraqat (it flashed): with an open rāʾ, from al-burūq. It is the gleam seen in the sky produced by an electrical discharge within the clouds.
• ridāʾuhu (his cloak): with a kasrah on the rāʾ and a fatḥah on the dāl. It is the garment that covers the upper part of the body; its plural is ardiya. The word is also used for anything worn over one’s clothes, such as a cloak or a jubba.
What is derived from the ḥadith:
1 – The cause for praying the istisqāʾ (prayer for rain) is the presence of drought and the harm caused by the absence of rain; the same applies to the drying of rivers and the sinking of wells.
2 – The istisqāʾ prayer has a sermon delivered from an elevated place—like the Friday and ʿĪd sermons—so that the congregation can hear the preacher better and grasp the message more clearly.
3 – It is recommended for the imam to make a general announcement appointing a day on which everyone will go out to the prayer ground, as they do for the ʿĪd prayer.
4 – It is recommended that the prayer be performed in an open area, just as the ʿĪd prayer is.
5 – The time for the istisqāʾ prayer is the same as the ʿĪd prayer: when the sun has risen about a spear’s length. This is the optimal time; otherwise, it may be offered at any time outside the prohibited times, and the scholars unanimously agree on this.
6 – It is recommended for the preacher to remind those present of the need for which they have come, so they will strive earnestly to attain it.
7 – He should instruct the people to make supplication, here and elsewhere, because supplication is one of the strongest means of obtaining what is sought. Whenever a servant is inspired to pray, the response will come—by Allah’s permission.