to seek rain, so he prayed two rak'ahs with them, reciting aloud in them. In both the two Eid prayers and the rain prayer, he would recite in the first rak'ah the Opening of the Book [al-Fatiha] and {Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High}, and in the second rak'ah the Opening of the Book and {Has there reached you the report of the Overwhelming [event]?}. When he finished his prayer, he faced the people, turned his mantle, raised his hands, and recited a takbir before seeking rain, then said: "O Allah, give us drink and succor us. O Allah, give us a rain that is succoring, a life-giving spring, a widespread, all-encompassing, abundant, downpouring, pleasing, wholesome, fertile, spring-producing, pasture-providing rain, flowing, shedding, covering, constant, heavy, beneficial and not harmful, immediate and not delayed. O Allah, revive the lands with it, succor the servants through it, and make it a provision for those of us present and those absent. O Allah, send down upon our land its adornment, and send down upon our land its tranquility. O Allah, send down upon us from the sky pure water, and revive by it a dead land, and give to drink from it much of what You have created, both cattle and people." Ibn Qutaybah said: "Al-Mughith" [the succoring one] is the one who revives by the permission of Allah the Exalted. "Al-Haya" [life-giving rain] is that by which the land and livestock are revived. "Al-Jada" is the general, widespread rain, from which "Jada" of a gift is derived; "Al-Jadwa" is shortened. "Al-Tabaq" is that which covers the earth. "Al-Ghadaq" and "Al-Mughdiq" mean heavy rainfall. "Al-Muniq" is that which amazes. "Al-Mari'" is that which possesses fertility and lushness. "Al-Murbi'" comes from your saying, "Raba'tu fi makan kadha" [I stayed in such and such a place]: meaning when you settle in it. "Arbi' 'ala nafsik" [be gentle with yourself]: meaning show kindness. "Al-Murti'" is from "Rata'at al-ibil" [the camels grazed], meaning when they found pasture. "Al-Sabil" is from "al-sabal", which is rain. It is said "Sabal sabil" [falling rain], just as it is said "Matar matir" [raining rain]. "Al-Ra'ith" is the slow one. "Al-Sakan" is strength, because the earth becomes tranquil/settled by it. It is narrated from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sought rain, he said: "O Allah, give us a rain that is succoring, wholesome, fertile, abundant, covering, widespread, heavy, and constant. O Allah, give us rain and do not make us among the despairing. O Allah, the servants and the lands are in such hardship, distress, and exhaustion that we complain of only to You. O Allah, cause the crops to grow for us, cause the udders to flow for us, give us drink from the blessings of the sky, and send down upon us from Your blessings. O Allah, remove from us exhaustion, hunger, and nakedness, and uncover for us from the afflictions that which none but You can uncover. O Allah, we seek Your forgiveness, for You are All-Forgiving, so send the sky upon us pouring."