A man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "Messenger of Allah, the livestock are dying and the roads are cut off, so pray to Allah."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed, and we had rain from one Friday to the next.Then a man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "Messenger of Allah, the houses have collapsed, the roads are cut off, and the livestock are perishing."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "O Allah, upon the tops of the mountains and the hills, the bottoms of the valleys, and the places where trees grow."He said, "The clouds parted from Madinah like a garment being pulled apart."In another narration from Anas, a man entered the mosque on Friday through a door near the door of Dar al-Qada while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was standing and delivering the sermon. He stood facing the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "Messenger of Allah, wealth has been destroyed and the roads are cut off, so pray to Allah to send us rain."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised his hands and said, "O Allah, give us rain. O Allah, give us rain. O Allah, give us rain."Anas said, "By Allah, we could see no cloud in the sky, not even a wisp, and there was nothing between us and Sal mountain, no house or dwelling."He continued, "Then from behind it a cloud appeared like a shield, and when it reached the middle of the sky it spread out and poured down rain. By Allah, we did not see the sun for six days. Then a man entered through that same door on the following Friday while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was standing and delivering the sermon. He stood facing him and said, 'Messenger of Allah, wealth has been destroyed and the roads are cut off, so pray to Allah to hold it back from us.'"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised his hands and said, "O Allah, around us and not upon us…"
جاء رجل إلى رسول الله ﷺ فقال: يا رسول الله! هلكت المواشي، تقطعت السبل فادع الله، فدعا رسول الله ﷺ، فمطرنا من الجمعة إلى الجمعة، قال: فجاء رجل إلى رسول الله ﷺ فقال: يا رسول الله! تهدمت البيوت، وانقطعت السبل، وهلكت المواشي، فقال رسول الله ﷺ: اللهم ظهور الجبال والآكام وبطون الأودية، ومنابت الشجر. قال: فانجابت عن المدينة انجياب الثوب. وفي رواية: عن أنس أن رجلا دخل المسجد يوم جمعة من باب كان نحو باب دار القضاء- ورسول الله ﷺ قائم يخطب فاستقبل رسول الله ﷺ قائما ثم قال: يا رسول الله! هلكت الأموال، وانقطعت السبل، فادع الله يغيثنا. فرفع رسول الله ﷺ يديه ثم قال: اللهم أغثنا، اللهم أغثنا، اللهم أغثنا. قال أنس: ولا والله ما نرى في السماء من سحاب ولا قزعة، ما بيننا وبين سلع من بيت ولا دار. قال: فطلعت من ورائه سحابة مثل الترس، فلما توسطت السماء انقشرت، ثم أمطرت فلا والله ما رأينا الشمس ستا، ثم دخل رجل من ذلك الباب في الجمعة- ورسول الله ﷺ قائم يخطب- فاستقبله قائما فقال: يا رسول الله! هلكت الأموال، وانقطعت السبل فادع الله يمسكها عنا. قال: فرفع رسول الله ﷺ يديه ثم قال: اللهم حوالينا ولا علينا…
The first narration was reported by Malik in Kitab al-Istisqa (3), from Sharik bin Abdullah bin Abu Nimr, from Anas bin Malik, as mentioned. Bukhari reported it in Kitab al-Istisqa (1016) through Malik with the same wording.The second narration was reported by Bukhari in Kitab al-Istisqa (1014) and Muslim in Kitab al-Istisqa (897), both from Qutayba bin Saeed, who said, "Ismail bin Jafar narrated to us, from Sharik bin Abdullah bin Abu Nimr, from Anas bin Malik," as mentioned, and their wording is identical.Sharik said, "So I asked Anas bin Malik whether this was the same man as the first one, and he said, 'I do not know.'"His saying, "Dar al-Qadaa," refers to the house of Umar bin Khattab. It was called Dar al-Qadaa because it was sold to settle a debt he owed, so it used to be called "the house sold to settle Umar's debt." Over time this was shortened to "Dar al-Qadaa" (the house of settlement). Whoever interpreted it as meaning the governor's residence was mistaken.His saying, "sittan" (six), means "we did not see the sun for six days." However, in most narrations it is "sabtan," named after one of the days, meaning "we did not see the sun for a week." Nawawi said it means a stretch of time, since the root of "sabt" means a cutting off or interval.His saying, "O Allah, around us," means directing the rain away from buildings and homes.His saying, "O Allah, upon the hills" is from "al-ikaam," with the hamza either carrying a kasrah or, less commonly, a fatha with elongation, and it is the plural of "akamah" with fatha vowels throughout. Khattabi said it refers to a large hill, while others said it means a small mountain, and still others gave different explanations. This is what is meant by his saying, "around us."This hadith serves as evidence for those who hold that prayer is not prescribed as part of seeking rain. The response given is that what is meant here is simply supplication, whereas the prayer for rain (istisqa) has been established through other hadiths.