All the signs are there that the raining season is imminent. Everyone loves the rains: kids rush out to play in it, the farmers give thanks for life it brings to the crops, the body is soothed by the coolness of the rain after the harshness and the irritation of the dry season. Maybe, not quite everyone: think about those whose houses are by the various canals or flood plains and how they dread the raining season for the waters from the sky would become their co-tenant! Think also, of those whose car must become 'boats', waddling through the flooded roads of Lagos. Still, rainfall has a lot to teach us. Think of those heavenly drops pouring down without discrimination, slaking thirst, drenching the earth, resuscitating organic life, and giving different tastes to the fruits. None of us can do without rain; nay, none would want to do without it!
Allaah Sends Down the Rain
How do these drops of mercy come upon us, each season? The scientists say that each moment, millions of cubic meters of water are carried from the oceans to the atmosphere and then sent back to the land, in what is described as the water cycle. However, Allaah says:
"Allaah is He Who sends the winds, so that they raise clouds, and spread them along the sky as He wills, and then break them into fragments, until you see rain drops come forth from their midst! Then when He has made them fall on whom of His slaves as He wills, behold, they rejoice!" (Q30[ar-Ruum]:48)
Also, Allaah says:
"He it is Who sends down water [rain] from the sky; from it you drink and from it [grows] the vegetation on which you send your cattle to pasture. With it He causes to grow for you the crops, the olives, the date-palms, the grapes, and every kind of fruit. Verily! In this is indeed an evident proof and a manifest sign for people who give thought. "(Q16[an-Nahl]:10-11)
In this age, mankind's knowledge has deluded him into thinking that he can predict when rain would fall and how much of it; some even go further and state that they can cause the rain to fall. The grateful Muslim must not fall into such delusion; rather he must know that the exact nature of rain, when and where it falls are part of the unseen that are kept only with Allaah. Narrated Ibn Umar: "Allaah's Messenger (sallaallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said,
"The keys of Unseen are five which none knows but Allah: None knows what will happen tomorrow but Allaah; none knows what is in the wombs (a male child or a female) but Allaah; none knows when it will rain but Allaah; none knows at what place one will die; none knows when the Hour will be established but Allaah."[See (031 [Luqman]:34)]
The rains fall at Allaah's commands it to and mankind should show gratitude to the Creator for this favour. Allaah says:
"Have you thought about the water that you drink? Is it you who sent it down from the clouds or are We the Sender? If We wished We could have made it bitter, so will you not give thanks?" (Q56 [Waqi'ah]: 68-70).
The actual task of making the rains fall is entrusted to Mika'iI, the angel of rain (alayhi sallam). Ibn 'Abbas narrated that the Prophet (sallaallaahu alayhi wa sallam) asked Jibril (alayhi sallam):
"What is Mika'il in charge of?" He replied, "The plants and the rain." (Tabarani)
He possesses a high position and 'great honour with his Lord. He has helpers who do everything he orders them to by the command of his Lord. They make the winds and clouds move and guide the rain drop to its specific spot-on earth, as Allaah wishes.
Do not disbelieve
Allaah is the Source of rain and to believe otherwise is to become a disbeliever! Narrated Zaid bin Khalid (RA): "We went out with Allaah's Messenger (sallaallaahualayhi wa sallam) in the year of AI-Hudaibiya. One night it rained and he led us inthe Fajr[dawn] prayer and (after finishing it), turned to us and said, "Do you know what your Lord has said?" We replied, "Allaah and His Messenger know it better."He said, "Allaah said: '(Some of) My slaves got up believing in Me, And (some of them) disbelieving in Me. The one who said: 'We have been given rain through Allaah's Mercy, Blessing and Bounty', then he is a believer in Me, and is a disbeliever in the star. And whoever said: 'We have been given rain because of such-and-such star', then he is a believer in the star, and is a disbeliever in Me.” (Bukhari)
Still, several people place the source of rainfall in certain physical, astronomical or astrological events. This is not surprising for the Prophet (sallaallaahu alayhi wa sallam)said, "If Allaah were to withhold rain from His servants for five years and then send it, a section of mankind would be infidels saying they had been supplied with water through the agency of the rainy star, al-Mijdah." (Nasa'i) These events may explain the process of rainfall but they are not the cause of it. Some other people say that they have control over the rains and can even avert rain that is about to fall. This con has been turned into a profession and the patrons are people who had spent money to organize lavish parties or events and would not want the rain to wash such away. Also, there are pagans who believe that the rain, especially when accompanied by thunderstorms, is a sign of anger or vengeance by their gods. And Allaah is our Refuge from such kufr[disbelief]!
Rain Is Sent Down In Due Measure
Scientists express amount of rainfall as the depth of water that collects on a flat surface after rain, and is measured by a gauge to the nearest 0.25 mm (0.01 inches). Rainfall is light if not more than 2.5 mm (0.10 inches) per hour, heavy if more than 7.50 mm (0.30 inches) per hour, and moderate if between these limits. However, Allaah defines rain as water sent down in "due measure":
"And Who sends down water [rain] from the sky in due measure ... "(Q43[Zukhruf]:11)
Man, looking at life only through personal prisms, often complain that rain is too much or inadequate; yet Allaah gives it in due measures with His Justice. The morning after a night of rain, Abu Hurayra (RA) would say, "We have been rained upon by the rain of Allaah's opening," and would then recite the verse:
"Whatever of mercy Allaah may grant to mankind, none can withhold it; and whatever He may withhold, none can grant it thereafter." (Q35[Fatir]:2) (Muwatta)
Truth is that the rain comes well distributed, just as Allah sends down His bounties and provisions as He thinks best for us, at a particular time and in a particular measure. (Q42:27-28)
Obedience to Allaah and generous sadaqah [charity] are two things that make people more deserving of this mercy of Allaah while rain is prevented or minimized by the non-payment of Zakaah. The Prophet (sallaallaahu alayhi wasallam) said that 'Our Lord had said,
"If My servants were to obey Me, I should give them rain by night, make the sunrise on them by day, and not cause them to hear the sound of thunder. '" (Ahmad)
Also, in the hadith of the man whose farmland was watered by rainfall on the specific orders of Allaah; the man was asked why he thought this occurred and he said:
"Whatever crops comes out of this garden, I give one third of it as charity [to the poor, and the beggars, and the wayfarers], and I eat with my family one third of it, and I return one third of it to cultivate more crops." (Muslim).
And the Prophet (sallaallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"If they refrain from paying the Zakaah due on their properties, they will be deprived of rain, unless they get it only for the sake of their cattle." (Ibn Majah)
Welcoming the Rains
'Aisha (RA) said: 'If the Prophet (sallaallaahu alayhi wasallam) saw a cloud in the sky, he would walk to and fro in agitation, go out and come in, and the colour of his face would change, and if it rained, he would feel relaxed.' So 'Aisha knew that state of his. So he said, "I don't know (am afraid), it may be similar to what happened to some people [the people of Aad] referred to in the following verse:
"Then when they saw it as a dense cloud coming towards their valleys, they said, 'This is a cloud bringing us rain!' Nay, but, it is that (torment) which you were asking to be hastened a wind wherein is severe torment." (46:24) (Bukhari). This shows that we should welcome rain with caution and fear. After all, were the disbelieving people of Nuh not destroyed by rainfall and it’s like? Allaah says:
"So We opened the gates of the heaven with water pouring forth. And We caused springs to gush forth from the earth. So the waters met for a matter predestined." (Q54[al-Qamar]:9-12)
The Abundant Rainfall
We should seek the beneficial rain praying as the Prophet (sallaallaahu alayhi wa sallam) did: "O Allaah! Give us rain which will replenish us, abundant, fertilizing and profitable, not injurious, granting it now without delay. "(Abu Dawuud)
And it is sunnah to open up your body to the first rain: Anas (RA) narrated: "It rained upon us as we were with the Messenger of Allaah (sallaallaahu alayhi wa sallam) He removed his cloth (from a part of his body) till the rain fell on it. We said: 'Messenger of Allaah, why did you do this?' He said: 'It is because it (the rainfall) has just come from the Exalted Lord'. (Muslim)
Most of all, we should seek the abundant rainfall, use it and be proof of its usefulness. And this is Islam, the true guidance from Allaah!
The Prophet (sallaallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said,
"The example of guidance and knowledge with which Allaah has sent me is like abundant rain falling on the earth, some of which was fertile soil that absorbed rain water and brought forth vegetation and grass in abundance. Another portion of it was hard and held the rainwater. Allaah benefited the people with it and they utilized it for drinking, making their animals drink from it and for irrigation of the land for cultivation. (The third) portion of the land was barren which could neither hold the water nor bring forth vegetation (thus, it gave no benefits). The first is the example of the person who comprehends Allaah's religion and gets benefit (from the knowledge) which Allaah has revealed through me (the Prophet). He learns it and then teaches others. The last example is that of a person who does not care for it and does not take Allaah's Guidance revealed through me.(The person is like that barren land.)" (Bukhari)
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited