161 – (Sound) Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:

A man once entered the mosque on a Friday while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was standing on the pulpit delivering the sermon. He said, “O Messenger of Allah, our wealth has perished and the routes are cut off; so implore Allah to send us rain.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised his hands and said:

allahumma aghithnā, allahumma aghithnā (O Allah, send us rain! O Allah, send us rain!)

Anas continued: By Allah, we could not see a cloud in the sky—not even the smallest wisp—and between us and Mount Salaʿ there was neither building nor dwelling. Suddenly a cloud appeared from behind the mountain, looking like a shield; when it reached the middle of the sky it spread out, and it rained. By Allah, we did not see the sun for a whole week.

The next Friday the same man came in through that very door while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was still delivering the sermon and said, “O Messenger of Allah, our wealth is being destroyed and the routes are blocked; so implore Allah to hold the rain back from us.” The Prophet ﷺ raised his hands and said:

allahumma ḥawālaynā wa lā ʿalaynā (O Allah, around us and not upon us); allahumma ʿalā al-ākām wa l-ẓirāb wa buṭūn al-awdiyah wa manābit al-shajar (O Allah, upon the hills, the small knolls, the valley floors, and the places where trees grow).

The clouds dispersed, and we went out walking in the sunshine. ⦗138⦘