Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > The drought prayer and rain seeking (istisqa)
When the land lacks water: istisqa, its form, its place, the Prophet's rain invocations and the attitudes he forbade.
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Updated on 06 October 2026 at 10:50 PM
The prayer for rain (salat al-istisqa) is one of the religious practices instituted by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when rain is delayed and drought strikes lands and people. Fiqh addresses it in detail: its definition, its status, the prayer that accompanies it, the khutba connected to it, and the turning of the garment that marks it. The following sheets present these questions through the positions of the 4 schools and the classical references.
In the Arabic language, istisqa means seeking a drink, that is, asking for rain to be sent down upon lands and people. The word derives from suqya (a drink): one says that a person was asked to give water when seeking that act from him (Lisan al-'Arab, entry suqya).
In the technical (juridical) sense, istisqa is asking for rain to be sent down in a specific manner when the need is dire: rain is withheld and the people have no valleys, wells or rivers from which to drink and water their livestock and crops, or these resources exist but are not sufficient. When they suffice, no istisqa is performed (Hashiyat Ibn 'Abidin, 2/184; al-Majmu', 6/135; al-Sharh al-saghir, 1/351).
The scholars agree that going out for istisqa, leaving the town, supplicating Allah, the Most High, and imploring Him for rain is a sunna instituted by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). They differ, however, on one point: is a prayer recommended along with istisqa or not?
The majority of the scholars, namely the Malikis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, as well as Abu Yusuf and Muhammad among the Hanafis, hold that prayer in congregation is recommended during istisqa. Their evidence is what 'Abbad ibn Tamim narrated from his uncle Abdallah ibn Zayd:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went out to the prayer ground (musalla) to pray for rain: he faced the qibla, turned his garment around and prayed 2 rak'as.
Narrated by Bukhari (980) and Muslim (794), and by Ahmad (4/40), the wording being his
Sufyan explained that turning the garment means placing the right side where the left was, and the left side where the right was.
'Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the people complained to the Messenger of Allah about the drought, that is, the withholding of rain and its failure to fall. He ordered that a pulpit (minbar) be brought and it was placed for him at the prayer ground, and he promised the people a day on which they would go out. She said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went out when the edge of the sun appeared. He sat on the pulpit, glorified Allah and praised Him, then said: "You have complained of the barrenness of your lands and of the rain being held back from its due season. Allah has commanded you to call upon Him, and He has promised you that He will answer you." He then recited:
Narrated by Bukhari (980) and Muslim (794)
"All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment."
Surah Al-Fatiha, 2-4
then he said: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah; He does what He wills. O Allah, You are Allah, none has the right to be worshipped but You. You are the Rich (free of all need) and we are the poor. Send down rain upon us, and make what You send down for us a strength and a provision until an appointed time.
He then raised his hands and kept them raised until the whiteness of his armpits appeared; then he turned his back to the people and turned his garment around (in one variant: changed it), with his hands still raised; he then faced the people again, came down and prayed 2 rak'as.
Narrated by Bukhari (980) and Muslim (794)
The account continues: Allah produced a cloud that thundered and flashed, then poured rain by His permission; the Prophet had hardly returned to his mosque when the streams were already flowing. When he saw how hastily the people rushed to shelter (al-kunn: everything that protects from heat and cold), he laughed until his back teeth showed, then said:
I bear witness that Allah has power over all things, and that I am the servant of Allah and His Messenger.
Good (hasan) hadith, narrated by Abu Dawud (1173) and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (3/271)
Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him), for his part, holds that no prayer is prescribed during istisqa: the imam goes out and supplicates Allah, and if the people pray individually, that is permitted for them. His first evidence is the word of Allah:
"Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. He will send rain from the sky upon you in showers, and grant you wealth and children, and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers."
Surah Nuh, 10-12
He understood the seeking of forgiveness (istighfar) in this verse as referring to istisqa, based on Allah's saying: "He will send rain from the sky upon you in showers"; the command to seek forgiveness thus stands for the request for rain. The hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) has also been cited as evidence for this position: a man entered the mosque on a Friday through a door near the judge's seat, while the Messenger of Allah was standing delivering the khutba. The man faced him, standing, and said: "Messenger of Allah, wealth has perished and the roads are cut off; call upon Allah to grant us rain." The Messenger of Allah raised his hands and said:
O Allah, provide us with rain! O Allah, provide us with rain! O Allah, provide us with rain!
Narrated by Bukhari (967, 970) and Muslim (897)
Anas continued the account: "By Allah, we could see no cloud or little cloud in the sky, and between us and mount Sal' there was neither house nor dwelling. A cloud like a shield then rose behind him; when it reached the middle of the sky, it spread out and began to rain. By Allah, we did not see the sun for 6 (days). On the following Friday, a man entered through that same door while the Messenger of Allah was standing delivering the khutba; he faced him, standing, and said: Messenger of Allah, wealth has perished and the roads are cut off; call upon Allah to withhold this rain from us.
The Messenger of Allah raised his hands and said:"
O Allah, around us and not upon us; O Allah, upon the hills and sandy tracts, in the bottoms of the valleys and where trees grow. The rain then ceased, and we went out walking in the sun.
Narrated by Bukhari (967, 970) and Muslim (897)
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once went out accompanied by al-'Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet, seated him on the pulpit and stood beside him, supplicating Allah and saying:
O Allah, we seek a means of access to You through the uncle of Your Prophet. He then offered a long supplication and did not come down from the pulpit until rain had been granted to the people.
Narrated by Bukhari (964); the wording of the hadith is: "O Allah, we used to seek a means of access to You through our Prophet and You would grant us rain; we now seek a means of access to You through the uncle of our Prophet, so grant us rain." And they were granted rain.
These questions are treated in detail in the classical references: al-Mabsut of al-Shaybani (1/447), Mukhtasar al-Quduri (44), al-Bahr al-ra'iq (2/181), Bada'i' al-sana'i' (1/282-283), Ibn 'Abidin (2/183), al-Sharh al-saghir (1/351), al-Mudawwana (1/865), al-Muwatta' (1/190), al-Istidhkar (2/426), al-'Umm (1/249), al-Majmu' (6/135), Rawdat al-talibin (2/90), al-Mughni (3/163), Kashshaf al-qina' (2/66), Bidayat al-mujtahid (1/296) and al-Ifsah (1/266).
As for the timing of the khutba relative to the prayer, the third position leaves the choice between the 2 options: delivering it before the prayer or after it. This is one of the transmissions reported by the Hanbalis: the reports have come in both cases and point to both dispositions, so it is possible that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did both (Mukhtasar al-Quduri, 44; Ma'ani al-athar, 2/259; al-Tahawi's commentary, 360; al-Sharh al-saghir, 1/352; Bidayat al-mujtahid, 1/297; al-Majmu', 6/153; al-Mughni, 3/170-171).
As for the number of khutbas, the schools differ:
He did not deliver a khutba like yours; rather, he remained in supplication, imploring and glorifying.
Good (hasan) hadith
This report indicates that the Prophet interposed nothing between the 2 moments by silence or sitting; and since the purpose sought is supplication, he did not interrupt it by sitting down (Bada'i' al-sana'i', 1/183; Ibn 'Abidin, 2/184; al-Sharh al-saghir, 1/353; al-Majmu', 6/153; al-Mughni, 3/171).
Al-Kasani (may Allah have mercy on him) states: the pulpit is not brought out for istisqa, and the imam does not ascend it even if a minbar stands at the place of supplication, for that contradicts the sunna; the people blamed Marwan ibn al-Hakam for bringing out the pulpit on the 2 Eids and accused him of contradicting the sunna. The imam therefore delivers the khutba on the ground, leaning on a bow or a sword; leaning on a staff is also fine, since his khutba lasts long and he seeks support by leaning on the staff (Ma'ani al-athar, 2/259).
The Malikis state explicitly that the khutba on the ground is recommended and the one on the pulpit is disliked (al-Sharh al-saghir, 1/353).
Several recommendations are added to it:
"Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. He will send rain from the sky upon you in showers."
Surah Nuh, 10-11
Turning the garment is a good omen sought: by inverting his garment, one asks Allah to change the state of drought into a state of abundance. This practice is specific to men, excluding women, according to all the schools.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned his garment: he placed its right side over his left shoulder and its left side over his right shoulder, then he supplicated Allah.
Authentic hadith, narrated by Abu Dawud (1163) and Ahmad (4/41-42); see al-Awsat (4/323), al-Taj wa-l-iklil (2/206), al-Sharh al-saghir (1/353), al-Majmu' (6/147, 155), al-Mughni (3/173)
He prayed for rain while wearing a black cloak (khamisa). He wanted to place its lower part on top; when it seemed too heavy for him, he placed the side that was on the left over his right shoulder and the one on the right over his left shoulder.
Authentic hadith, narrated by Abu Dawud (1164)
Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I like the change of sides (tahwil) because the Prophet did it, and I like the turning over (qalb) because the Prophet intended to do it; he only abandoned it because of the weight of the khamisa" (al-Bayan, 2/685-686; al-Majmu', 6/147, 155; al-Najm al-wahhaj, 2/580).
Bada'i al-Sana'i by al-Kasani · Hanafi school
because it is a prayer established by a vast assembly, in which recitation is aloud, like Friday and the two Eids. Abu Hanifa is supported by the hadith of Samura ibn Jundub, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) "stood for a long time without his voice being heard", and Ikrima reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "I prayed the eclipse prayer with the Messenger of Allah, and I was beside him without hearing from him a single letter." And he (the Prophet) said: "The prayer of the day is silent", that is, it contains no audible recitation. And because people cannot reflect upon the recitation, the fruit of recitation would be lost, since their hearts are absorbed by this alarm, just as on other days they cannot reflect in the daytime prayers.