or even the smallest wisp of cloud [1]—nothing at all—and there was not a single house or dwelling between us and Salʿ [2]. In another wording Anas said, “The sky was like clear glass.” He continued, “Then a cloud appeared behind it the size of a shield; when it reached the middle of the sky it spread out and began to pour.” By the One in whose hand is my soul, he had not yet lowered his hands before the clouds billowed like mountains. Nor did he step down from the pulpit until I saw the rain trickling down his blessed beard ﷺ. In another narration: “A wind stirred and produced clouds; they gathered together, and then the sky poured out its buckets [3].” [He then came down from the pulpit and performed the prayer 2/19.] “We went out wading through the water until we reached our homes.” In another version: “A man could scarcely make it to his house 7/154.” We were drenched that day, the next day, the day after, and the day following that until the next Friday—the rain did not stop [4] until the run-off channels of Madinah overflowed [5]. In another wording: “By Allah, we did not see the sun for six days.”

Then that Bedouin—or someone else—stood up. In another narration: “The following Friday a man entered through that same door while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was delivering the sermon, and he faced him standing,” and said, “O Messenger of Allah, the buildings have collapsed!” In another version: “The houses have crumbled, the roads are impassable, and the livestock have perished.” In one chain it states: “The traveller is hard-pressed [6] and the road is blocked.”