It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "One of the earlier prophets went out to perform istisqa (to pray for rain), and he saw an ant raising some of its legs toward the sky. So he said (to the people): 'Go back, for your prayer has been answered because of this ant's humility.'" This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it. [From the Book of Istisqa (Praying for Rain)]

Ja'far bin Muhammad narrates from his father, from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led the prayer for rain (istisqa) and turned his cloak over so that the drought would turn away." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

Talhah bin Yahya narrates: Marwan sent me to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) to ask him about the method of the prayer for rain (istisqa). He said: "The method of the prayer for rain is the same as the prayer of the two Eids, except that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) turned his cloak over, putting its right side on the left and its left side on the right. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) led two rak'ahs; in the first rak'ah he said seven takbirs and recited 'Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High,' and in the second rak'ah he recited 'Has there reached you the report of the Overwhelming (event)?' and said five takbirs in it." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

Ishaq bin Abdullah narrates that al-Walid sent him to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and he asked: "O my nephew! What method did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) adopt in the prayer for rain on the day he prayed for rain with the people?" He replied: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out in utmost humility, lowliness and plain clothing, and then he did in it just as he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha." The narrators of this hadith are Egyptians and Madinans, and to my knowledge none of them has been subjected to any kind of criticism, and the two Shaykhs did not record it. Sufyan al-Thawri has also narrated it from Hisham bin Ishaq.

Hisham bin Ishaq bin Abdullah bin Kinanah narrates from his father, who said: One of the governors sent me to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) to ask about the prayer for rain. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "What prevented him from asking me himself? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out in utmost humility, in plain clothing, with humble devotion, earnestly supplicating and walking slowly. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) led two rak'ahs just as he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead them at Eid, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not deliver a sermon like this sermon of yours."

Thabit narrates from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not raise his hands in any of his supplications except in the prayer for rain (istisqa)." Shu'bah said: I asked Thabit: "Did you hear this from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him)?" He said: "Subhan Allah!" I asked again: "Did you hear this from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him)?" He said again: "Subhan Allah!" This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), and Imam Muslim recorded it through the hadith of Yahya bin Abi Bukayr from Shu'bah.

Abbad bin Tamim narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led the prayer for rain while wearing a black striped cloak (khamisah). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to take hold of its lower part and put it on top, but when it became heavy for him (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned it over on his shoulder instead." The two Shaykhs agreed on recording the hadith of Abbad bin Tamim, but they did not record it with these words, and this hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim.

Yazid al-Faqir narrates from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: Some weeping women came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (complaining of the drought), so he (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated: 'Allahumma-sqina ghaythan mughithan mari'an mari'an, 'ajilan ghayra ajil, nafi'an ghayra darr' (O Allah, give us rain that brings relief, that is wholesome, that makes the land green and fertile, that comes soon and not late, that is beneficial and not harmful). Then clouds covered them. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

Umayr, the freed slave of Abi al-Lahm, narrates from Abi al-Lahm (may Allah be pleased with him) that he saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) near Ahjar al-Zayt praying for rain, supplicating like this with the palms of both his hands held up in front of his face. This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it, and Umayr, the freed slave of Abi al-Lahm, had the honour of being a Companion. And the proof of its authenticity (is in the next hadith):

Muhammad bin Zayd narrates from Umayr, the freed slave of Abi al-Lahm (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: "I took part in the Battle of Khaybar with my masters. They spoke to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about me and told him (peace and blessings be upon him) that I was a slave. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave an order and a sword was hung on me, but (being small) I was dragging it along the ground. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered some household goods to be given to me. I presented to him (peace and blessings be upon him) a ruqyah (incantation) with which I used to treat the insane, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered me to discard part of it and keep part of it."