the prayer, by analogy with the two ʿĪd prayers; this is the position of al-Shāfiʿī and Mālik.

Yet Layth b. Saʿd said: “The sermon precedes the prayer.”
Ibn al-Mundhir states: “It is reported from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—that ‘he went out to seek rain and delivered the sermon before the prayer,’ and the same is transmitted from ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb. We follow this view.”
Al-Qāḍī adds: “Abū Dāwud has recorded this through several chains, and, to the best of my knowledge, everyone who mentions the sermon places it before the prayer.”

They are unanimously agreed that the Qur’an is to be recited aloud in this prayer. They disagree, however, on whether the additional takbīrs should be pronounced as they are in the two ʿĪd prayers. Mālik maintains that the takbīr in it is the same as in the other prayers, whereas al-Shāfiʿī holds that it follows the pattern of the ʿĪd prayers.
The root of the disagreement lies in whether the prayer for rain is to be analogized to the ʿĪd prayer.
Al-Shāfiʿī supports his opinion with the report from Ibn ʿAbbās:
“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—performed two rakʿahs in it just as he prays on the two ʿĪds.”

They further concur that it is Sunnah for the imām to face the qiblah standing, raise his hands in supplication, and turn his cloak inside out, as the transmitted reports indicate. They differ, however, over the manner of turning the cloak and the point in the ceremony at which it should be done.

As for how it is done: the majority hold that he brings what is on his right side over to his left and what is on his left over to his right.
Al-Shāfiʿī says instead: “He turns the upper part of the cloak downward, then brings what is on his right side to his left and what is on his left to his right.”

The cause of this disagreement is the variant narrations.
Thus, in the ḥadith of ʿAbd Allāh b. Zayd it is related that:
“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—went out to the prayer-ground to seek rain, faced the qiblah, inverted his cloak, and prayed two rakʿahs.”
In one version of the same report I said:
“Shall I place the left side over the right and the right over the left, or shall I turn its upper part to the bottom?”
He replied, “Rather, place the left over the right and the right over the left.”

Another wording of ʿAbd Allāh’s report states:
“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—sought rain while wearing a black cloak. He tried to lift its lower hem and make it the upper part; when it weighed upon him, he simply turned it over his shoulders.”