Source: Fatāwā Amanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri
❖ Question
In Ṣalāt al-Istisqāʾ (the prayer for rain), is the khutbah delivered before or after the prayer?
❖ Answer
In Ṣalāt al-Istisqāʾ, one khutbah is delivered. It may be given either before or after the prayer — both ways are correct and Sunnah.
◈ Evidence for Khutbah Before the Prayer
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما said:
((صلى ركعتين كما يصلى فى العيد، ولم يخطب خطبتكم هذه))
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed two rakʿāt like the ʿĪd prayer but did not deliver a khutbah like yours.”
(Musnad Aḥmad 1/230, 269, 355; Sunan Abī Dāwūd 1165; Sunan al-Nasāʾī 1522; Sunan Ibn Mājah 1266 – chain ḥasan)
This ḥadīth indicates the khutbah was delivered before the prayer.
◈ Evidence for Khutbah After the Prayer
ʿAbdullāh ibn Zayd رضي الله عنه narrated:
((خرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى المصلى واستسقى، وحول رداءه حين استقبل القبلة وبدأ بالصلاة قبل الخطبة، ثم استقبل القبلة فدعا))
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went to the prayer ground for Istisqāʾ, turned his cloak when he faced the qiblah, and began with the prayer before the khutbah. Then he turned towards the qiblah and supplicated.”
(Musnad Aḥmad 4/41 – chain ḥasan)
This ḥadīth proves that the khutbah was after the prayer.
✅ Conclusion
- The Prophet ﷺ sometimes delivered the khutbah before the prayer and sometimes after the prayer.
- Therefore, both are Sunnah and permissible.
- Similarly, duʿāʾ may be made before or after the prayer.
