From `Abdul-`Aziz ibn `Abdullah ibn Baz to any Muslim who reads this Fatwa. May Allah guide us all and grant us the means to make sincere repentance from all sins. Amen.
Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you.
To proceed:
“ :As you know, may Allah bestow His Mercy upon us all, that the ruler of Muslims, may Allah protect and guard him, gave directions for offering the Rain Prayer in the morning of Monday, 7 Jumadal-Ula, 1408 A.H., because rain season is late this year and has not fallen in many places at its annually scheduled time. Muslims are in dire need of it, and they are desperately asking Allah to overwhelm them with His Mercy [Exalted and Sublime Be He], His Bounty and Kindness. He (Exalted and Glorified be He) has guided them to invoke and implore Him so that He grants them their needs with His Grace.
He, the Most Glorified, assured them of answering their supplications, as He (Exalted and Glorified be He) said:
“And your Lord said: “Invoke Me, I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islâmic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!“”
and:
“And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.“
In other verses, He (Exalted and Glorified be He) said:
“Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors.”
“And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope. Surely, Allâh’s Mercy is (ever) near to the good-doers” .
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the early Muslims always turned to Allah seeking His Help in times of distress or adversity. He answered their invocations and granted them of His Bounties and Benevolence as He (Exalted and Glorified be He) said regarding the Battle of Badr,
“(Remember) when you sought help of your Lord and He answered you (saying): “I will help you with a thousand of the angels each behind the other (following one another) in succession.”” .
When drought intensified in Al-Madinah and its suburbs, Muslims requested the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to pray for rain. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then raised his hands while giving the Friday Sermon and prayed for rain and repeated his supplication twice.
On another occasion he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went out with them to the desert where he led them in two Rak’ahs prayer similar to the ‘Eid prayer. He supplicated his Lord asking Him for rain. In this prayer he raised his hands and repeated the invocation many times and then inverted his garment.
Following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Muslims also raised their hands in prayer and supplicated Allah. Then Allah sent down abundant rain, bestowed His Mercy upon them and removed their distress.
He (Exalted and Glorified be He) said: “Indeed in the Messenger of Allâh (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allâh and the Last Day, and remembers Allâh much.”
One of the most important means of obtaining Allah’s Mercy and being blessed with rain is fearing Allah [Exalted and Sublime Be He], turning to Him in repentance from all sins, promoting all what is right and forbidding all what is evil, cooperating in matters of piety and righteousness, holding mutual consultation for the sake of Allah, advising each other with the truth and being steadfast in implementing it, being compassionate to the poor and the needy, consoling them and being generous to them.
Allah (Exalted and Glorified be He) said:
“And if the people of the towns had believed and had the Taqwâ (piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth” till the end of the verse.
He,Most Glorified, said
“And whosoever fears Allâh and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).“
He also said,
“…and whosoever fears Allâh and keeps his duty to Him, He will make his matter easy for him.”
He (Exalted and Glorified be He) also said in another verse:
“Surely, Allâh’s Mercy is (ever) near to the doers of good“
and:
“The believers, men and women, are Auliyâ’ (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another; they enjoin (on the people) Al-Ma‘rûf (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism and all that Islâm orders one to do), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islâm has forbidden); they perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), and give the Zakât, and obey Allâh and His Messenger. Allâh will have His Mercy on them. Surely Allâh is All-Mighty, All-Wise.“.
In these noble verses, He (Exalted and Glorified be He) explained that fearing Allah, being kind to Allah’s servants and keeping upright and straight on the path of Allah are of the means of bringing about Allah’s Mercy to His servants, His kindness to them, sending down rain and removing their distress.
Therefore, fear Allah O servants of Allah! Be kind to His servants, and advise one another with truth and be steadfast and patient in doing so; cooperate among yourselves in acts piety and righteousness, promote what is right, forbid what is evil and repent altogether from all your sins. Hence your Sustainer (Exalted and Glorified be He) will encompass you with His Mercy upon you and send down blessed rain for you. He will also give youwhatever you desire and withhold from you whatever you dislike.
The Almighty said: “And all of you beg Allâh to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful“
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) advised us saying:
““Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully”“
In another Hadith he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stated:
“The Most Compassionate (Allah) has mercy on those who are compassionate to people. If you show mercy to those on the earth, He Who is in the heaven will show mercy to you” .
The Qur’anic verses and Prophetic Hadiths urging people to observe piety, uprightness, mercy and kindness to those in need are many and well-known.
I ask Allah to rectify the affairs of all Muslims; to grant them sincere repentance from all sins; to send down the rain for them out of His Grace and Bounty; to reconcile and unite their hearts on piety and good deeds; to protect everyone from the evils of their selves and to purify them from their sinful acts; to rid them of misguidance of tribulations; to support His Deen; to make His word the uppermost; to guide our rulers to what is good and beneficial forpeople and countries; to correct the behavior of their advisors and enable them to do all kinds of good. Indeed, He is the Grantor of all this and is the Most Omnipotent. Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you.
President Of The Administrations Of Scientific Researches, Ifta, Call and Guidance.
`Abdul-`Aziz ibn `Abdullah ibn Baz
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