He raised his hands and said words to this effect: “O Allah, if, in Your wisdom, You have decreed that this rain should continue, then let it fall around Madinah, not upon it, so that people’s livelihoods are not disrupted, the livestock may go out to their pastures, and the downpour may descend where it is of benefit—upon the surrounding mountains, the uplands, the valleys, and the grazing lands.”

The sky cleared at once, and they left the mosque walking, with no rain falling on them. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him.

Lessons derived from the hadith

1. The sermon is to be delivered while standing, and it is permissible to speak to the preacher; this has already been discussed under the rulings of the Friday prayer.
2. It is permissible to supplicate for rain (istisqāʾ) during the Friday sermon. Abū Ḥanīfah confined istisqāʾ to this form, without a separate prayer, whereas the majority hold that it may be performed with a special prayer, during the Friday sermon, or by supplication alone.
3. Raising the hands in supplication is legislated, for it expresses neediness and a hope of receiving. The scholars concur that the hands are to be raised in this situation; they differ regarding other occasions. Some extend it to every act of supplication, while others restrict it to the specific instances reported. Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar noted that there are many hadiths—collected by al-Bukhārī, al-Mun­dhirī, and al-Nawawī—on raising the hands in supplication in general.
4. The event contains one of the Prophet’s ﷺ miracles and marks of honor that attest to his prophethood: his prayer was answered instantly, both in bringing the rain and in causing it to cease.
5. Employing means to seek provision—whether through supplication or travelling through the land—does not contradict reliance on Allah.
6. It is recommended to use this prophetic wording when asking for rain.
7. It is lawful to ask that rain be withheld when it causes harm. The Prophet specified that it remain on the mounds (al-ākām), knolls (al-ẓirāb), and valley floors, for these locations are more suited to cultivation and pasture on high ground that is otherwise hard to reach.
8. It is permissible to request supplication from those thought to be righteous and God-fearing; this is the lawful form of tawassul (seeking a means). Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah divided tawassul into three categories, two of which are permissible:
   • first, asking a living person, believed to be virtuous, to pray to Allah;
   • second, seeking closeness to Allah by performing righteous deeds.
   The third is prohibited: seeking Allah’s favor by the mere status of any created being, living or dead. This is impermissible because it is a means that leads to shirk.