(1) Ibn al-Qayyim said in *Zād al-Maād* (1/456–458): “It is authentically established that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sought rain in several ways: The first was during the Friday sermon, while standing on the pulpit. He said: ‘O Allah, bring us relief! O Allah, bring us relief! O Allah, bring us relief! O Allah, send us rain! O Allah, send us rain! O Allah, send us rain!’ The second was that he appointed a day on which the people would go out to the prayer ground, and he led them in the *salāt al-istisqā* (prayer for rain). The third was that he sought rain from the pulpit in Medina on a day other than Friday, solely by supplicating for rain. It has not been related that he performed a prayer on that occasion. The fourth was that he sought rain while seated in the mosque, raising his hands and supplicating to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. The fifth was that he sought rain at Ahjār al-Zayt, near al-Zawrā. This location is outside the gate of the mosque now known as Bāb al-Salām, approximately a stone’s throw away, to the right of someone leaving the mosque. The sixth was that he sought rain during one of his military expeditions after the polytheists had reached the water before him…” End quote, abridged with very slight adaptation. I say: The *salāt al-istisqā* is the second of the forms mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim, and it is the subject under discussion here.