Ahammiyat Salat al-Istisqa fi al-Islam wa al-Istighatha al-Mashrua
- Author died
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- Editions
- al-Jāmi‘ah al-Islāmīyah bi-al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
Ahammiyat Salat al-Istisqa fi al-Islam wa al-Istighatha al-Mashrua (The Importance of the Rain Prayer in Islam and Legitimate Supplication for Aid) is a short treatise written by Muhammad Azizu al-Maghribi, a student at the secondary institute of the Islamic University of Madinah, addressing the theological significance of the rain prayer (Salat al-Istisqa) and the boundaries of lawful intercession (Tawassul) and relief-seeking (istighatha).
Background and Occasion of Writing
The author composed the work after King Faysal issued a royal call across Saudi Arabia to perform Salat al-Istisqa due to delayed rainfall. Al-Maghribi noted with regret that despite the broadcasted announcements on television, radio, and in mosques, many people neglected the gathering, left shops open, and failed to fill the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. He attributed this absence to widespread ignorance of the prayer's religious necessity and spiritual wisdom, motivating him to write an exposition on the subject.
Content and Arguments
The Nature and Essence of Istisqa
The text defines istisqa as seeking water and divine relief (ghayth) exclusively from God, the sole Provider capable of sending rain. Al-Maghribi refutes purely naturalistic and materialist claims that reduce rainfall to seawater evaporation under solar heat while denying the Creator, questioning how inanimate nature could possess power, perception, or deliberate order.
Rather than focusing on technical legal rulings detailed in jurisprudence manuals, the treatise emphasizes the spiritual essence of the ritual: sincere supplication (dua), humility, remorse for sins, turning cloaks (tahwil al-ardiyah), and earnest repentance (tawbah). Al-Maghribi highlights that while early Muslim generations were answered promptly due to their adherence to the Quran and Sunnah, later generations often experience withheld rain because of their abandonment of divine guidance.
Lawful and Unlawful Tawassul
A major portion of the treatise is dedicated to clarifying misconceptions regarding tawassul through the person of the Prophet ﷺ or pious individuals. The author analyzes the narration concerning the second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, who sought rain through the Prophet's uncle, al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, during the Year of Severe Drought (Am al-Ramadah), referencing citations from Fath al-Bari and al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar's al-Ansab.
Al-Maghribi explains that Umar's recourse to al-Abbas was by means of al-Abbas's living supplication, not through his physical essence (dhat). He concludes that:
- Lawful tawassul consists of supplicating by means of one's own righteous deeds, one's faith in and love for the Prophet ﷺ, or requesting a living, pious person to pray on one's behalf.
- Unlawful tawassul consists of swearing by or entreating God through the physical essences of deceased or living persons, which he deems baseless and invalid.
Warning Against Polytheistic Sacrifices
The work concludes with a strict warning against folk practices such as leading camels, cattle, or sheep to tombs and sacred stones for ritual slaughter. Al-Maghribi asserts that any rain falling after such acts is a divine trial (ibtila) and gradual entrapment (istidraj) for those who commit polytheism (shirk), rather than an acceptance of pre-Islamic customs (amal al-jahiliyyah).
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