and has promised that He will answer you.” He then said: “Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment. There is no deity but Allah; He does whatever He wills. O Allah, You are Allah; there is no deity but You. You are the Self-Sufficient, while we are the poor and needy. Send down rain upon us, and make what You send down a source of strength and sufficient provision for us for a time.”
He then raised his hands and continued holding them aloft until the whiteness of his armpits became visible. He turned his back to the people and reversed—or turned—his cloak while keeping his hands raised. He then faced the people, descended, and performed two units of prayer. Allah brought forth a cloud, which thundered and flashed with lightning, and then, by Allah’s permission, it rained. He had not yet reached his mosque when torrents began to flow. When he saw the people rushing for shelter, he laughed until his molar teeth became visible. He then said: “I bear witness that Allah has power over all things and that I am Allah’s servant and Messenger.” Reported by Abū Dāwūd. (1)
There is no evidence prescribing a specific time for this prayer (2). Although most of its rulings are like those of the Eid prayer, it differs in that it is not restricted to a particular day. (3)
(1) A *hasan* (good) hadith.
It was reported by Abū Dāwūd in the Book of Prayer, chapter “Raising the Hands During the Prayer for Rain,” hadith no. 1173—whose wording this is—as well as by al-Hākim in *al-Mustadrak* (1/328) and Ibn Hibbān in *al-Ihsān* (7/109, hadith no. 2860).
Immediately after reporting it, Abū Dāwūd said: “This is a *gharīb* (singly transmitted) hadith with a good chain of transmission.” The hadith was also graded *hasan* by the eminent al-Albānī in *Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl* (3/135) and by the editor of *al-Ihsān* (7/110).
(2) He stated in *Fath al-Bārī* (2/499): “The preponderant view is that no particular time is prescribed for it.” End quote.
(3) *Fath al-Bārī* (2/499), where he stated: “May it be performed at night? Some scholars inferred from the fact that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, recited aloud during it by day that it is a daytime prayer, like the Eid prayer. Otherwise, if it could be performed at night, its recitation would be silent by day and aloud by night, as is the general rule for voluntary prayers.
“Ibn Qudāma related a consensus that it is not to be performed at a time when prayer is discouraged. Ibn Hibbān stated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, went out to the prayer ground for the prayer for rain during Ramadan in the sixth year after the Hijrah.”
I say: Ibn Qudāma stated in *al-Mughnī* (2/432): “The prayer for rain has no prescribed time, except that, without scholarly disagreement, it is not performed during a prohibited time. Its permissible time is broad, so there is no need to perform it at such a time. It is preferable to perform it at the time of the Eid prayer, based on the report of Aisha: ‘Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, went out when the edge of the sun first appeared.’ This was reported by Abū Dāwūd. Moreover, the prayer for rain resembles the Eid prayer in its location and form, so it should likewise resemble it in time—[except] (*) that its time does not end when the sun passes its zenith, since it has no particular day and therefore no prescribed time. Ibn Abd al-Barr said: ‘According to a group of scholars, one should set out for it when the sun passes its zenith, with the exception of Abū Bakr ibn Hazm.’ This indicates preference, not that it must be performed at that time.” End quote.