Sayyidah Umm Hisham bint Harithah bin Nu’man (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that I learned Surah Qaf by heart after hearing it from the blessed mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). He used to recite this Surah every Friday while delivering the sermon to the people from the pulpit.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that on Friday, a man entered the mosque from the door facing Dar al-Qada while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was standing on the pulpit delivering the sermon. He stood before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the wealth has been destroyed and the roads have been cut off. Pray to Allah to grant us rain." He says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands and then supplicated: «‏‏‏‏اللَٰهُمَّ أَغِثْنَا، اللَٰهُمَّ أَغِثْنَا، اللَٰهُمَّ أَغِثْنَا» ‏‏‏‏ "O Allah, grant us rain. O Allah, bestow rain upon us. O Allah, bless us with rain." Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says, "By Allah, we did not see any cloud or patch of cloud in the sky, and there was no house or neighborhood between us and the mountain of Sila. Then, from behind Sila, a cloud appeared, which was like a shield. When that cloud reached the middle of the sky, it spread out and then it rained." Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says, "By Allah, we did not see the sun for seven days." He says, "Then, on the next Friday, a man entered from the same door while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was standing and delivering the sermon, and he said, 'O Messenger of Allah, the livestock have perished and the roads have been cut off. So pray to Allah to withhold the rain from us.' So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his hands and supplicated: «‏‏‏‏اللّهُمَّ حَوالَيْنا وَلا عَلَيْـنا، اللّهُمَّ عَلى الآكـامِ وَالظِّـراب، وَبُطـونِ الأوْدِية، وَمَنـابِتِ الشَّجـر» ‏‏‏‏ 'O Allah, let the rain fall around us and not upon us. O Allah, let it fall on the hills, the mountain tops, the valleys, and the places where trees grow.'" Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says, "So the clouds dispersed and we walked in the sunshine (back to our homes)." Janab Shareek says, "I asked Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), 'Was it the same man as before?' He replied, 'I do not know.'" Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Sila is a mountain.

Hazrat Humaid narrates that it was asked from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) whether the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to raise his hands while making supplication. He replied that on the day of Jumu’ah, it was submitted to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):“O Messenger of Allah, the rain has stopped, the land has become barren, and the livestock have perished.”So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised both his hands and prayed for rain until I saw the whiteness of his armpits, and we had not seen any cloud in the sky. Then, as soon as we completed the prayer, even a person living very close to the mosque faced difficulty and concern in returning to his family due to the heavy rain. Then the rain continued for a week. Then the companions submitted:“O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the houses have collapsed and the caravans have stopped.”Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled. Then he raised his hands (and supplicated) «‏‏‏‏اللَّهُمَّ حَوَالَيْنَا وَلاَ عَلَيْنَا» ‏‏‏‏“O Allah, let the rain fall around us and not upon us.”So the clouds cleared away from Madinah. These are the words of the narration of Khalid bin Harith. Whereas in the narration of Abu Musa, the words“Qahṭ al-maṭar”(there is no rain) are mentioned.

Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that in the narration of Humaid from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not raise his hands in any of his supplications or while making any supplication except in the prayer for rain. (During the prayer for rain) he would raise his hands so much that the whiteness of his armpits would become visible.

Imam Abu Bakr, may Allah have mercy on him, says that in the narration of Sharik bin Abdullah from Sayyiduna Anas, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, raised both his hands. I have already dictated the narration of Sayyiduna Qatadah from Sayyiduna Anas, may Allah be pleased with them, that the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not raise his hands in any supplication except for the prayer for rain. What he means is that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would raise his hands when asking Allah Almighty for rain and also when supplicating for the rain to stop. He has used the term "Istisqa" for both meanings, whereas on one occasion he prayed for rain and on another occasion he prayed for the rain to stop. The evidence for the correctness of my interpretation is the hadith of Sayyiduna Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, which Sharik bin Abdullah has narrated, that the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, raised his hands on the pulpit during the Friday sermon, while he was supplicating to Allah Almighty for rain. Similarly, he also raised his hands when he made this supplication «‏‏‏‏اللَّهُمَّ حَوَالَيْنَا وَلاَ عَلَيْنَا» ‏‏‏‏ "O Allah, let it rain around us, not upon us."

Sayyiduna ‘Ammarah bin Ruwaybah Thaqafi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Bishr bin Marwan delivered a sermon and (during the sermon) he was raising his hands while making supplication. So Sayyiduna ‘Ammarah (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“May Allah ruin these two hands! I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the pulpit; he would only gesture with his index finger.”This is the narration of Jarir. In the narration of Hushaym, it is mentioned:“I was present with Sayyiduna ‘Ammarah bin Ruwaybah Thaqafi (may Allah be pleased with him) on the day of Eid while Bishr bin Marwan was delivering a sermon to us, and he raised both his hands for supplication.”And Hushaym added:“He gestured with his index finger.”Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Imam Shu’bah and Thawri narrated from Husayn with these words:“They saw Bishr bin Marwan on the pulpit on the day of Jumu’ah.”Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) has mentioned the chain of narration of Imam Shu’bah and Sufyan Thawri (may Allah have mercy on them).

Imam Abu Bakr, may Allah have mercy on him, says that I have already recorded the narration of Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d, may Allah be pleased with him, in the Book of the Two Eids.