1801 — “There are three practices of the people of the pre-Islamic period which Muslims do not abandon: wailing, seeking rain through the stellar phases, and such-and-such.” I asked Sa‘id—that is, al-Maqburi—“What is that?” He replied: “The pre-Islamic tribal cry: ‘O clan of so-and-so! O clan of so-and-so! O clan of so-and-so!’”

Ahmad narrated it (2/262) from Rib‘i ibn Ibrahim: ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ishaq related to us, from Sa‘id, from Abu Hurayrah, attributed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Ibn Hibban also narrated it (739) by this route, except that he said, “mutual disparagement,” in place of “and such-and-such.” This ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ishaq apparently is Abu Shaybah al-Wasiti, and he is weak; the rest of its narrators are trustworthy. However, it has another route and supporting reports.

As for the other route, Ibn Hibban narrated it (740) from Abu ‘Amir: Sufyan related to us, from Sulayman, from Dhakwan, from Abu Hurayrah. He then mentioned something similar, including contagion, thus making them four.

I say: Its chain of transmission is authentic, and its narrators are trustworthy. It is also supported by the hadith of Junadah ibn Malik, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording: “There are three practices of the people of the pre-Islamic period which Muslims do not abandon: seeking rain through the stars ...”

Al-Bukhari narrated it in al-Tarikh (1/2/233), as did al-Bazzar (no. 797) and al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (2178), through the route of al-Qasim ibn al-Walid, from Mus‘ab ibn ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Junadah al-Azdi, from his father, from his grandfather, attributed to the Prophet. Al-Bukhari said: “There is an issue in its chain of transmission.”