Supplicating for Rain Without Offering Salat al-Istisqa Is Also Established
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
It is authentically reported that making supplication (duʿāʾ) alone for rain—without offering the formal prayer of Istisqāʾ—is also established in the Sunnah.
Anas (رضي الله عنه) narrated that once a man entered the mosque on a Friday while the Prophet ﷺ was delivering the sermon. The man said:
"O Messenger of Allah! هلكت الأموال وانقطعت السبل، فادع الله يغيثنا"
“Our wealth and livestock have perished and the roads are cut off. So supplicate to Allah to bless us with rain.”
The Prophet ﷺ then raised his hands and made duʿāʾ:
اللهم أغثنا، اللهم أغثنا، اللهم أغثنا
Allah accepted the duʿāʾ, and it rained so much that by the following Friday, another man stood up during the sermon and said:
"O Messenger of Allah! هلكت الأموال وانقطعت السبل، فادع الله يمسكها عنا"
“Our wealth and livestock have again been harmed and roads are blocked, so supplicate to Allah to hold back the rain.”
The Prophet ﷺ again raised his hands and supplicated:
اللَّهُمَّ حَوَالَيْنَا وَلَا عَلَيْنَا، اللَّهُمَّ عَلَى الْآكَامِ وَالظِّرَابِ وَبُطُونِ الْأَوْدِيَةِ وَمَنَابِتِ الشَّجَرِ
Then Allah accepted the duʿāʾ, and the rain ceased.
Sources:
Bukhārī: 1016, 1017 — Kitāb al-Jumuʿah: Bāb Man Iktafā bi-Ṣalāt al-Jumuʿah fī al-Istisqāʾ
Muwaṭṭā: 1/191 | Muslim: 897 | Abū Dāwūd: 1175 | Nasāʾī: 3/154 | Ibn Ḥibbān: 2857 | Bayhaqī: 3/343
❶ Anas (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"Once we were caught in a shower while with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ removed his garment so that rain would fall on his body."
Then he ﷺ said:
“This rain has just now come from its Lord.”
Sources:
Aḥmad: 3/133 | Muslim: 898 – Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Istisqāʾ
Abū Dāwūd: 5100 | Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim in al-Sunnah: 1/276
Commentaries:
ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) narrated:
When the Prophet ﷺ would see rain, he would say:
اللَّهُمَّ صَيِّبًا نَافِعًا
“O Allah, make it a beneficial rain.”
Sources:
Bukhārī: 1032 — Kitāb al-Jumuʿah: Bāb Mā Yuqāl Idhā Muṭirnā
Aḥmad: 6/129 | Bayhaqī: 3/361 | Nasāʾī: 1523 | Ibn Mājah: 3890 | Abū Dāwūd: 5099
Ibn al-Sunnī in ʿAmal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah: 304
A narration mentioning that in the two rakʿāt of Salat al-Istisqāʾ, the Prophet ﷺ recited:
This narration is not authentic, as clarified by Shaykh al-Albānī (رحمه الله).
Sources:
Tamām al-Minnah: p. 264
al-Ḍaʿīfah: 5231
Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 3/134
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ Supplicating for Rain Without Offering Salat al-Istisqa
It is authentically reported that making supplication (duʿāʾ) alone for rain—without offering the formal prayer of Istisqāʾ—is also established in the Sunnah.
Anas (رضي الله عنه) narrated that once a man entered the mosque on a Friday while the Prophet ﷺ was delivering the sermon. The man said:
"O Messenger of Allah! هلكت الأموال وانقطعت السبل، فادع الله يغيثنا"
“Our wealth and livestock have perished and the roads are cut off. So supplicate to Allah to bless us with rain.”
The Prophet ﷺ then raised his hands and made duʿāʾ:
اللهم أغثنا، اللهم أغثنا، اللهم أغثنا
Allah accepted the duʿāʾ, and it rained so much that by the following Friday, another man stood up during the sermon and said:
"O Messenger of Allah! هلكت الأموال وانقطعت السبل، فادع الله يمسكها عنا"
“Our wealth and livestock have again been harmed and roads are blocked, so supplicate to Allah to hold back the rain.”
The Prophet ﷺ again raised his hands and supplicated:
اللَّهُمَّ حَوَالَيْنَا وَلَا عَلَيْنَا، اللَّهُمَّ عَلَى الْآكَامِ وَالظِّرَابِ وَبُطُونِ الْأَوْدِيَةِ وَمَنَابِتِ الشَّجَرِ
Then Allah accepted the duʿāʾ, and the rain ceased.
Sources:
Bukhārī: 1016, 1017 — Kitāb al-Jumuʿah: Bāb Man Iktafā bi-Ṣalāt al-Jumuʿah fī al-Istisqāʾ
Muwaṭṭā: 1/191 | Muslim: 897 | Abū Dāwūd: 1175 | Nasāʾī: 3/154 | Ibn Ḥibbān: 2857 | Bayhaqī: 3/343
✿ Rain Is a Mercy
❶ Anas (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"Once we were caught in a shower while with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ removed his garment so that rain would fall on his body."
Then he ﷺ said:
“This rain has just now come from its Lord.”
Sources:
Aḥmad: 3/133 | Muslim: 898 – Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Istisqāʾ
Abū Dāwūd: 5100 | Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim in al-Sunnah: 1/276
Commentaries:
- Imām al-Ṣanʿānī (رحمه الله): This hadith indicates that rain is a mercy. (Subul al-Salām: 2/706)
- Imām al-Nawawī (رحمه الله): Indeed, rain is a mercy. (Sharḥ Muslim: 3/464)
✿ What to Say Upon Seeing Rain
ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) narrated:
When the Prophet ﷺ would see rain, he would say:
اللَّهُمَّ صَيِّبًا نَافِعًا
“O Allah, make it a beneficial rain.”
Sources:
Bukhārī: 1032 — Kitāb al-Jumuʿah: Bāb Mā Yuqāl Idhā Muṭirnā
Aḥmad: 6/129 | Bayhaqī: 3/361 | Nasāʾī: 1523 | Ibn Mājah: 3890 | Abū Dāwūd: 5099
Ibn al-Sunnī in ʿAmal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah: 304
✿ A Weak Report Regarding Istisqāʾ Recitation
A narration mentioning that in the two rakʿāt of Salat al-Istisqāʾ, the Prophet ﷺ recited:
- In the first rakʿah: Sabbih isma rabbika al-aʿlā
- In the second rakʿah: Hal atāka ḥadīth al-ghāshiyah
This narration is not authentic, as clarified by Shaykh al-Albānī (رحمه الله).
Sources:
Tamām al-Minnah: p. 264
al-Ḍaʿīfah: 5231
Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 3/134
