These transmission lines are so numerous that, taken together, they reach the level of tawātur from Anas ibn Mālik; in the judgment of the scholars of this discipline they yield certain knowledge.

Al-Bayhaqī reports—through more than one route—his chain that ends with Abū Maʿmar Saʿīd ibn Khuthaym al-Hilālī, from Muslim al-Malāʾī, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said:

A Bedouin came and said, “O Messenger of Allah, by Allah we have come to you while not a single camel of ours can let out a groan and no child of ours can find morning milk.” Then he recited:

We have reached you while the maiden’s breast is bleeding,
And the mother of the infant is too distraught to nurse.
The youth has flung down his hands in helpless submission,
Standing weak with hunger, unable even to move away.
Of the food people eat nothing remains with us
Save the bitter colocynth and worthless desert weeds.
To you alone do we flee for refuge,
And where else do people flee but to the Messengers?

Anas said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up, dragging his cloak, mounted the pulpit, praised and glorified Allah, then raised his hands toward the sky and said:

“O Allah, send us a relieving, wholesome, abundant, copious, pouring, saturating rain—swiftly and without delay, beneficial and not harmful—one that fills the udders, makes the crops sprout, and revives the earth after its death; and thus shall You bring forth (the dead).”

By Allah, he had not yet lowered his hands to his chest before the sky hurled down its sheets of rain.

The people of the low-lying areas came crying, “O Messenger of Allah, we are drowning, we are drowning!” So he raised his hands toward the sky and said, “O Allah, around us and not upon us.” The clouds immediately withdrew from Madinah until they ringed it like a diadem. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ laughed until his molar teeth were visible and said, “By Allah, may Abu Ṭālib be rewarded! If he were alive today his eyes would be gladdened. Who will recite his verse?”

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib rose and said, “O Messenger of Allah, perhaps you wish to hear his words:

He is the fair one whose face is sought for rain—
A shelter for orphans, a safeguard for widows.
Those in extremity from the sons of Hāshim seek refuge in him,
And with him they dwell in blessing and bounty.
You have lied—by the House of Allah—that Muḥammad will be given up
Before we have fought and struggled on his behalf;
We shall not surrender him until we are laid low around him,
Forgetful of our own sons and spouses.”

Anas continued: Then a man from the tribe of Kinānah stood up and said