423 – Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: “The Prophet ﷺ prayed for rain and gestured with the backs of his hands toward the sky.” Reported by Muslim (1).

What may be deduced from the ḥadith:
1 – It is recommended to seek rain (istisqāʾ) when the community is in need of it.
2 – In this report the Prophet’s istisqāʾ consisted of duʿāʾ alone; therefore, it represents a third form of seeking rain by supplication—after the two forms mentioned earlier: within the formal prayer of istisqāʾ and during the Friday sermon.
3 – The ḥadith shows emphasis in raising the hands high, tilting them so that the backs of the palms face the sky.
4 – Imām al-Nawawī, in Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, wrote a section on raising the hands in supplication:
Branch: The recommendation to raise the hands when making duʿāʾ outside the ritual prayer, along with a selection of narrations on the subject:
– From Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Prophet ﷺ prayed for rain and raised his hands.” Reported by al-Bukhārī (1013) and Muslim (897).
– From Salmān (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet ﷺ: “Allah is Modest, Noble, and Generous; when a servant raises his hands to Him, He is shy to send them back empty and disappointed.” Reported by Abū Dāwūd (1488).
– Anas said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, whenever he finished the prayer, raise his hands and invoke against those who had killed his Companions.” Reported by al-Bayhaqī (2072) with a sound chain.
– ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) related that when the Prophet ﷺ went out at night to al-Baqīʿ to pray for its inhabitants, “he stood for a long time, then raised his hands three times, and thereafter returned.”