(3889); al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad (177/686); Abu Dawud (5099), in abridged form; and Ahmad (6/222–223), all through al-Miqdam ibn Shurayh, from his father, from her. I say: its chain of transmission is authentic.

Ibn Hibban also recorded it (1002, al-Ihsan) through Sharik, from al-Miqdam, in abridged form, except that he said “dust” in place of “cloud.” This is rejected, owing to Sharik’s weakness and his contradiction of the narration of the group. Yet the defect does not lie with him, but with the narrator from him, Yahya ibn Talhah al-Yarbu‘i, who is weak in hadith, as stated in al-Taqrib. He was contradicted by Hajjaj—namely, Ibn Muhammad al-Masisi, who is trustworthy—who narrated it from him for Ahmad in the second place cited above, with the wording of the group. This point escaped the commentator on the Mu’assasah edition of al-Ihsan (3/287), who said: “An authentic hadith!” Had he noticed it, he would have said: “Except for the wording ‘dust,’ which is rejected.”

It is also corroborated by ‘Ata ibn Abi Rabah, from her. She said: Whenever the wind blew fiercely, he would say: “O Allah, I ask You for its good, the good within it, and the good for which it was sent; and I seek refuge in You from its evil, the evil within it, and the evil for which it was sent.” She said: Whenever the sky became overcast, his complexion would change; he would go out and come in, and move back and forth. When it rained, his anxiety would be relieved, and I could recognize that in his face. ‘Aishah said: So I asked him about it, and he replied: “Perhaps, O ‘Aishah, it was as the people of ‘Ad said: ‘When they saw it as a cloud advancing toward their valleys, they said: This cloud will bring us rain. Rather, it was that which you sought to hasten.’”

Muslim recorded it (3/26), as did al-Tahawi in Mushkil al-Athar (1/400), and al-Nasa’i (940 and 941), who recorded the supplication portion of it. Al-Bukhari also recorded it in abridged form (1032, 3206, 4828, and 4829). In the first of these places, it is extremely abridged, with the wording: “Whenever he saw rain, he would say: ‘A beneficial downpour.’”