To a Muslim, prayer is a recourse which gives reassurance and ready help and which is always available. In all situations of distress, when man feels unable to cope, helpless, alone, or overwhelmed, he can resort to prayers and he will soon feel better and stronger as he seeks help from the One who can remove all hardship and relieve all distress. The Prophet (peace be upon him) always had recourse to prayer when he faced a situation in which he needed help and guidance. When a person faces difficulty, of any sort, and resorts to prayer, he demonstrates his genuine belief in God, as he recognizes that only He can give the right sort of help, no matter what forces are rallied against him.
The Prophet provided us with clear guidance on this. His practice was to always resort to prayer when he faced a matter of serious nature. At the same time, he felt uneasy at any change in natural phenomena, because he feared that such a change might signal an act of the divine will that brought serious consequences. Thus, the eclipse, gathering thick clouds and wind could make him worried. In such situations he would resort to prayer.
The prayer at the time of the eclipse is special and very long. We have two Hadiths that explain this prayer. Abdullah ibn Amr reports: “The sun went into eclipse during the life of the Prophet. An announcement was made calling people for a congregational prayer. The Prophet led the prayer, doing two bows, or ruku’, in the first rak’ah, and two more in the second. Then by the time he finished the sun was out again.” Aishah, the Prophet’s wife, says: “I never prostrated myself or bowed in prayer at such length.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
The other Hadith is reported by Aishah who says: “The sun went into eclipse during the Prophet’s time, and he led the people in a congregational prayer. He stood reciting the Qur’an at length, then he bowed making his ruku’ long. He then stood up and recited the Qur’an for long, but less than his first recitation. He followed that by a second ruku’ which was again long but shorter than the first one. He then stood up and prostrated himself. He then did in the second rak’ah as he did in the first. By the time he finished the sun was out again. He then addressed the people, praising God and glorifying Him, before saying: ‘The sun and the moon are two of God’s signs. They are never eclipsed because of the death or the life of anyone. Should you see such an eclipse, pray to God and glorify Him, and donate to charity. You, Muhammad’s community! Learn that none is more upset than God when a male or female servant of His commits adultery. You, Muhammad’s community! If you knew what I know, you would laugh but little and weep much.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
Both Hadiths speak of a special prayer in which an additional ruku’ or bowing is made. It is a long prayer, in which the Prophet recited the Qur’an and glorified God at length. He was apparently uneasy during the eclipse, because to us it demonstrates a phenomenon operated by God. This is a clear sight of how God controls such great celestial bodies as the sun and the moon. We note also that in his speech the Prophet was keen to emphasize the fact that the eclipse takes place by God’s will. He warns the people that what he knew of God’s will and might would cause anyone to weep in fear of what might happen should God be displeased with him.
Another special prayer is to pray for rain after a period of draught. The Prophet taught us practically how to perform this prayer. Abdullah ibn Zayd reports: “The Prophet went out with the people to pray for rain. He offered two rak’ahs in congregation, reciting the Qur’an aloud in both rak’ahs. He then turned his robes, raised his hands and prayed for rain facing the direction of the Kaaba.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Nassaie.)
A second Hadith concerning this prayer is reported by Kinanah who says: “Al-Waleed ibn Uqbah, the governor of Madinah, sent me to Ibn Abbas to ask him how the Prophet offered the special prayer for rain. He told me that ‘the Prophet went out wearing old clothes, showing humility and praying hard, until he reached the praying place in an open space outside Madinah. He did not do a sermon like you do. He concentrated on supplication, earnest appeal and the glorification of God. He prayed two rak’ahs as he used to do for the Eid.’” (Related by Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, Al-Nassaie and Ibn Majah.) Anas also reports that “the Prophet used not to raise his hands during his supplication except when he prayed for rain. He would raise them high so that the whiteness of his armpits would be visible.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and others.)
These Hadiths show that the Prophet was keenly aware of the results of draught. He would pray hard for rain. What we note in this prayer is the visible humility that should be shown at this time. It is an urgent appeal that needs to be answered soon if hard consequences were to be avoided. Hence, showing our humility before God and emphasizing our need for His kindness are needed. While the Prophet always prayed God with full sincerity, he emphasized this even more clearly at the time of his prayer for rain. This is seen in his raising his hands high, which was not his habit in prayer.
Some scholars maintain that a sermon is recommended before the prayer for rain. Others do not share this view and consider that the supplication and glorification of God render a sermon unnecessary. What is preferable is to pray hard, genuinely feeling our need for God’s kindness and our helplessness should His kindness be withheld from us. Therefore, we must earnestly pray for His forgiveness of our sins, declaring our sincere repentance and our firm resolve not to resort to such sins again. It is also important that the community as a whole and all individuals make an effort to rectify and stop injustice, so that whoever is denied something that rightfully belongs to him should be able to have it.
