Al-Shāfi‘ī said (1): It is reported from Sālim ibn ‘Abd Allāh, on the authority of his father, in a narration traced back to the Prophet, that whenever he prayed for rain, he would say:

“O Allah, send us rain that brings relief, pleasant and wholesome (2), bringing fertility, abundant, enveloping, widespread and all-covering, pouring freely and enduring. O Allah, send us rain and do not let us be among those who despair. O Allah, Your servants, the lands, the animals and all creation suffer adversity, hardship and distress, of which we complain to You alone. O Allah, make our crops grow, make our livestock yield abundant milk, shower us with the blessings of the sky, and bring forth for us the blessings of the earth. O Allah, relieve us of hardship, hunger and lack of clothing, and remove from us afflictions that none but You can remove. O Allah, we seek Your forgiveness; You are ever All-Forgiving. Send down abundant rain upon us.”

Al-Shāfi‘ī said: I would like the imam to offer this supplication.

He said (3): It has reached us that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would raise his hands when supplicating for rain.

It has also reached us (4) that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would expose himself to the rain at its onset (5), so that it would fall upon his body.