his companions. Our evidence is that what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did is established as binding for others as well, provided no evidence exists that it was specific to him. Moreover, the underlying rationale for this act is understood, which is to seek an omen (tafa'ul) through inverting the cloak, so that Allah may invert their condition from drought to fertility; this has been mentioned in some hadith reports. The method of inverting the cloak is to place what is on the right side to the left, and what is on the left to the right. This was narrated from Aban ibn 'Uthman, 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, Hisham ibn Isma'il, Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Hazm, and Malik. Al-Shafi'i held this view, but later retracted it, stating: "He should place [its top at its bottom] (8)," because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sought rain while wearing a black Khamisah (garment), and he wanted to place its bottom at its top; but when it became heavy for him, he placed the 'itaf (9) that was on his left shoulder onto his right shoulder, and the one on his right onto his left shoulder. Narrated by Abu Dawud (10). Our evidence is what Abu Dawud narrated (10) with his chain of narration from 'Abd Allah ibn Zayd that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) inverted his cloak, and placed the right side of his 'itaf onto his left shoulder, and the left side of his 'itaf onto his right shoulder. And [in the hadith of] (11) Abu Hurayrah there is something similar (12). The additional information they have transmitted, if established, represents the narrator's conjecture; the act of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is not to be abandoned for it. A group has transmitted the inversion of the cloak, and none of them reported that he placed its top at its bottom; it is unlikely that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would have abandoned that in all instances due to the weight of the cloak.
Section: It is recommended to raise the hands during the supplication for rain; because of what al-Bukhari narrated (13),
(8) In the original: "its bottom at its top". (9) The root of the 'itaf is the cloak, and he only attributed the 'itaf to the cloak because he intended one of the two sides of the 'itaf. (10) In: The beginning of the Book of Istisqa' (Seeking Rain). Sunan Abi Dawud 1/265. It was also recorded by Imam Ahmad in: al-Musnad 4/41, 42. (11) In the original: "and hadith". (12) Its extraction (takhrij) preceded on page 337. (13) In: Chapter on the Imam raising his hand in the prayer for rain, from the Book of Istisqa'. Sahih al-Bukhari 2/39, 40. It was also recorded by Muslim in: Chapter on raising hands in supplication during the prayer for rain, from the Book of Istisqa'. Sahih Muslim =
