3.1.11 Miscellaneous Services

It is reported that on a certain occasion when there had been a prolonged drought, someone requested the Holy Prophet, while he was delivering the Friday sermon in the mosque, to pray for rain, as both men and cattle were suffering severely, and in response, the Holy Prophet raised his hands and prayed to God for rain (Bu. 11:35). Similarly he is reported to have prayed to God when there was excess of rain (Bu. 11:35). On another occasion, however, he is said to have gone out into the open with the congregation, and to have prayed for rain and then performed two rak‘ahs of prayer in congregation, reading the Fatihah in a loud voice, as in the Friday service (Bu. 15:1, 16).

A prayer service of two rak‘ahs was held by the Holy Prophet during an eclipse of the sun. This eclipse occurred on the day of the death of Ibrahim, the Holy Prophet’s eighteen months old son. The service differed from the ordinary prayer service in that there were two qiyams and two ruku‘s in each rak‘ah. There is also mention of a sermon having been delivered after the service (Bu. 16:4). In this sermon, the Holy Prophet, while enjoining charity and seeking of forgiveness from God (istighfar), referred particularly to Ibrahim’s death. When the people saw that the sun had darkened, they began to say among themselves that this was due to Ibrahim’s death. The Holy Prophet rebutted this idea in his sermon, saying that “the sun and the moon do not suffer eclipse for anyone’s death or life” (Bu. 16:13). This was the only occasion of an eclipse on which a service was held by the Holy Prophet (ZM. I, p. 129).