Mu'jam Kabir Tabarani 21031 — Sayyidah Ruqayqah bint Abi Sayfi bin

Sayyidah Ruqayqah bint Abi Sayfi bin Hashim (may Allah be pleased with her), who was with Abd al-Muttalib, narrates that years came upon Quraysh one after another in which, because of the drought, the udders dried up and the bones grew weak. Once, while I was asleep, immersed in worry — or she said: grieving — suddenly a caller cried out in a hoarse voice, saying: "O people of Quraysh, this Prophet who is to be sent, whose days have now cast their shade over you, and this is the time of his appearance, so be ready for prosperity and rain. Behold! Seek out a man from among you who is of medium height, of large and heavy build, fair in complexion, with thick eyelashes, smooth cheeks and a high nose, who has a sign which he keeps hidden and a way to which he guides. Let him and his children purify themselves, and let one man from every clan come down to him; then let them bathe with water, apply perfume, touch the Black Stone, then climb Mount Abu Qubays; then let that man supplicate and the rest say Amin, and you will receive as much rain as you wish." I woke up in the morning — Allah knows well — terrified; my body was trembling and my heart was distressed. I related my dream, and I slept in the valleys of Makkah; and by the sanctity and the Sanctuary, there remained no one living in Makkah who did not say: "This is Shaybat al-Hamd" (that is, Abd al-Muttalib). So the chiefs of Quraysh began to gather to him, and one man from every clan came down to him; they bathed, applied perfume and touched the Black Stone, then climbed Mount Abu Qubays and lined up around him, until, when they had all gathered on the summit of the mountain, Abd al-Muttalib stood up, and with him was the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), a boy who had reached or was close to reaching youth. He raised his hands and said: "O Allah, O You who remove hardship and avert distress! You are the Teacher whom no one taught, and the One who is asked and does not withhold. These are Your male and female servants in the open courtyards of Your Sanctuary, complaining to You of their drought, which has finished off even the hooves and the cloven hooves of the animals. O Allah, send down upon us rain that brings forth greenery and pours abundantly." By the Lord of the Ka'bah, they had not yet finished the supplication when the sky burst forth with its water and the valley was filled with its roar. I heard the elders and chiefs of Quraysh, Abdullah bin Jud'an, Harb bin Umayyah and Hisham bin al-Mughirah, saying to Abd al-Muttalib: "Congratulations to you, O Abu al-Batha!" That is, because of you the people of al-Batha have come back to life. Concerning this, Ruqayqah bint Abi Sayfi composed these verses:
"Through Shaybat al-Hamd Allah gave our town rain to drink, when we had been deprived of the means of life and the rain had held back. Then came a dense rain with streams, pouring in torrents, and through it the cattle and the trees came to life. This is a favour from Allah through that blessed being, and the best is the one of whom Mudar was given glad tidings one day. Blessed is this affair, through which rain is sought from the clouds; among the creation there is none equal to him, nor anyone of his worth and standing."