How did the first rain prayer of the Prophet (pbuh) take place?

How did the first rain prayer of the Prophet (pbuh) take place?

Dear Brother / Sister,

There was a big drought and famine in the 6^th year of the Migration. While reciting the sermon on a Friday in the month of Ramadan, the Messenger of Allah was asked, “Pray Allah to send us rain.”

Thereupon, the Prophet prayed, “O Allah! Send us rain! O Allah! Send us rain! O Allah! Send us rain!” (Bukhari, 1:179; Muslim, 2:613.)

All of a sudden, the sky which was as clear as a mirror, became full of clouds and it started to rain. Then, the Prophet prayed, “O Allah! Make it rain heavily and make it beneficial for us.” (Bukhari, 1:179.)

Anas b. Malik says, “It rained so much that we could hardly go to our houses. It rained that day, the next day, the day after that day until the next Friday." (Bukhari, 1:179; Musnad, 3:261)

While reciting the sermon on the next Friday, the Prophet was asked to pray Allah to stop the rain this time. They said,

“O Messenger of Allah! The houses started to collapse; the roads were blocked. Will you pray Allah to stop the rain?” (Musnad, 3:261)

The Messenger of Allah smiled, opened his hand by raising them and prayed, “O Allah! Send the rain around us not on us.” (Musnad, 3:261; Muslim, 2:613)

Anas b. Malik says,

“While the Messenger of Allah was praying, the parts of the sky to which he pointed became clear, and Madinah became like an open square. It was raining around Madinah but not even one raindrop fell on Madinah. The people who came from outside Madinah said it was raining a lot there.” (Muslim, 2:614)

It was the first rain prayer performed by the Messenger of Allah. He performed five more rain prayers at different times after that.

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