Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī (1) said: Abū Naṣr ibn Qatādah and Abū Bakr al-Fārisī informed us, saying: Abū ʿAmr (2) ibn Maṭar narrated to us; Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAlī al-Dhuhalī narrated to us; Yaḥyā ibn Yaḥyā narrated to us; Abū Muʿāwiyah narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Mālik, who said:

“A severe drought struck the people in the time of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. A man went to the grave of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, ask Allah to send rain to your community, for they are perishing.’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then came to him in a dream and said, ‘Go to ʿUmar, convey my greetings to him, inform them that they will be given water (3), and say to him: “Foresight, foresight.”’ The man went and informed ʿUmar, who said, ‘My Lord, I have not neglected anything save what lies beyond my ability.’ This chain of transmission is sound (4).”

Al-Ṭabarānī (5) reported: Abū Muslim al-Kashshī narrated to us, Muḥammad al-Anṣārī (6) narrated to us, my father narrated to us, from Thumāmah ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Anas, from Anas:

“ʿUmar went out to perform istisqāʾ (the prayer for rain) and took al-ʿAbbās with him for that purpose, saying, ‘O Allah, whenever drought befell us during the lifetime of our Prophet we would seek You through our Prophet; now we seek You through the uncle of our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.’”

Al-Bukhārī (7) likewise narrated it from al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh [al-Anṣārī] with the same chain, and his wording from Anas is: “Whenever they were afflicted by drought, ʿUmar would seek rain through al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib and would say: ‘O Allah, we used to beseech You through our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and You would send us rain; now we beseech You through the uncle of our Prophet, so send us rain.’ He added: and they would indeed be given rain.”

Abū Bakr ibn Abī al-Dunyā, in his book al-Maṭar and in Mujābī al-Daʿwa, said: Abū Bakr al-Naysābūrī narrated to us, ʿAṭāʾ ibn Muslim narrated to us, from al-ʿUmarī, from Khawwāt ibn Jubayr, who said:

“ʿUmar went out with the people to seek rain; he prayed two rakʿahs and then said, ‘O Allah, we seek Your forgiveness and we ask You for rain.’ He had not yet moved from his place before they were showered. Later some Bedouins arrived and said, ‘O Commander of the Believers, while we were in our valley at such-and-such an hour, a cloud overshadowed us and we heard a voice coming from it saying: ‘Help has come to you, O Abū Ḥafṣ, help has come to you, O Abū Ḥafṣ.’”

Ibn Abī al-Dunyā also said: Isḥāq ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us, Sufyān narrated to us, from Muṭarrif ibn Ṭarīf, from al-Shaʿbī, who said:

“ʿUmar went out with the people to seek rain and did not add anything other than istighfār (seeking Allah’s forgiveness) until he returned. They said, ‘O Commander of the Believers—’