As for the point at which the imam should do this,
Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī say that he does it when he has finished the sermon.
Abū Yūsuf holds that he should turn his cloak after part of the sermon has been delivered, and this is likewise reported from Mālik.
All of them state that if the imam overturns his cloak while standing, the worshipers overturn theirs while seated, in light of the Prophet’s statement—peace and blessings be upon him—“The imam has only been appointed so that he may be followed.”
The sole exceptions are Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan, al-Layth b. Saʿd, and some of Mālik’s companions; in their view the people do not turn their cloaks merely because the imam does so, for no such practice is transmitted from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—when he prayed with them.
A group of scholars holds that one should go out for the rain-seeking prayer at the same time one goes out for the two ʿĪd prayers. Abū Bakr b. Muḥammad b. ʿAmr b. Ḥazm, however, said that the proper time is when the sun begins to decline from its zenith. Abū Dāwūd has narrated from ʿĀʾishah that
“the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—went out to seek rain when the rim of the sun first appeared.”
Chapter Eight
The ʿĪd Prayers
The scholars are unanimously agreed that it is recommended to perform the ritual bath (ghusl) for the two ʿĪd prayers, and that these prayers are conducted without adhān or iqāmah, for this is firmly established from the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—save for an innovation introduced by Muʿāwiyah, according to the soundest view, as noted by Abū ʿUmar.
They likewise concur that the Sunnah is to perform the prayer before the sermon, since this too is established from the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—except for what is related from ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān, who delayed the prayer and advanced the sermon so that the people would not disperse before hearing it.
They further agree that no specific portion of Qur’an is fixed for recitation in the ʿĪd prayers. Most of them, however, prefer that in the first rakʿah Sūrat al-Aʿlā (“Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High”) be recited, and in the second Sūrat al-Gāshiyah (“Has there come to you the story of the Overwhelming Event?”), because this practice is recurrently transmitted from the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and al-Shāfiʿī likewise recommended it.