al-Umm (1/252)].
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Sharḥ al-Iqnāʿ states that it is recommended to stand outside when the first rain begins, and to bring out one’s baggage and clothing so that the rain may reach them; this practice is called istimtār, and it is based on Anas’s ḥadith.
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Sharḥ al-Iqnāʿ further says that the sunnah is to say, “Muṭirnā bi-faḍlillāh wa raḥmatih” (“We have been given rain by Allah’s bounty and mercy”), and that it is forbidden to say, “Muṭirnā bi-nawʾi kadha” (“We were given rain by such-and-such a star-phase”). Al-Bukhārī (846) and Muslim (71) relate that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Do you know what your Lord has said?” They replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “This morning some of My servants became believers while others became disbelievers. Whoever said, ‘We have been given rain by Allah’s bounty and mercy,’ is a believer in Me and a disbeliever in the stars; whereas whoever said, ‘We were given rain by such-and-such a constellation,’ is a disbeliever in Me and a believer in the stars.”
The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that when one star set and its counterpart rose, rain would fall, and they therefore ascribed rain to those stars. To attribute rain to a nawʾ instead of to Allah is, by unanimous agreement, disbelief. It is unlawful to link the rain to a star even if one inwardly intends that the real agent is Allah. It is, however, permissible to say, “We were given rain during the nawʾ of such-and-such,” just as one might say, “We were given rain in such-and-such a month.”
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Ibn al-Qayyim said: Then Allah sends the winds, which carry water from the sea and impregnate the clouds with it; for this reason lands that are close to the sea receive abundant rain, whereas those far from it receive less. The early and later scholars alike know that Allah creates rain out of the air, from the vapor that rises up, for He has created nothing without a material basis.
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Regarding the phrase, “So he uncovered his cloak until the rain touched him,” is this act prescribed or merely permissible? There are two possibilities:
a) If the Prophet ﷺ did it as an act of worship, then it is prescribed.
b) If he did it as a customary action, it does not establish it as a religious practice. The reasoning that the rain “has just now come from its Lord” suggests that he intended it as an act of worship.
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The Prophet’s ﷺ bare actions do not indicate obligation; they signify recommendation only.