The Hadith of The Drought
أصاب الناس قحط في زمن عمر فجاء رجل إلى قبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: يا رسول الله، استسق لأمتك فإنهم قد هلكوا، فأتي الرجل في المنام فقيل له: ائت عمر فأقرئه السلام وأخبره أنكم مسقيون، وقل له: عليك الكيس عليك الكيس، فأتى عمر فأخبره، فبكى عمر ثم قال: يا رب لا آلوا إلا ما عجزت عنه
A man came to the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, ask for help for your nation, for they have perished.” The man was told in a dream: “Come to Umar, give him peace, tell him that you will be watered, and tell him, ‘You must be careful, you must be careful,’” so he came to Umar and told him, and Umar wept and then said, “Lord, I will only do what I am unable to do.
From those who authenticated it:
Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī
Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī
Ibn al-Ramlī
Ibn Kathīr
Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (d. 463)
Muḥibb al-Dīn al-Ṭabarī (d. 694)
al-Qasṭallānī (d. 923)
Ibn ʿAsākir (d. 571)
al-Suyūṭī (d. 911)
al-Bayhaqī (d. 458)
al-Dhahabī (d. 748)
al-Samhūdī (d. 911)
al-Zarqānī (d. 1122)
Abū Yaʿlā al-Khalīlī (d. 446)
Ibn Mandhūr (d. 711)
Ibn ʿAllān (d. 1057)
Some claim this hadith is not an authentic hadith according to Sunni/Salafi scholars. This hadith was authenticated by such standards by the scholars mentioned above, but a sunni justification for such a narrations authenticity is provided below.
Ibn Kathir mentioned in his Tarikh (7/105): “The hadith scholar Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi narrated: Abu Nasr ibn Qatada and Abu Bakr al-Farisi both narrated from Abu Umar ibn Matar, who narrated from Ibrahim ibn Ali al-Dhahli, who narrated from Yahya ibn Yahya, who narrated from Abu Mu’awiya, from al-A’mash, from Abu Salih, from Malik who said: There was a drought during the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab, so a man went to the grave of the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: ‘O Messenger of God, ask God for rain for your community, for they are perishing.’ The Prophet (ﷺ) then came to the man in a dream and told him: ‘Go to Umar, convey my greetings to him, and inform him that you will be granted rain. Tell him to be wise, wise!’ The man went and told Umar, who responded: ‘O my Lord, I will only spare no effort.’” Ibn Kathir commented, “This chain is authentic,” confirming its authenticity.
This narration was also included by Taqi al-Subki in Shifa’ al-Siqam and others, citing the hadith of Malik al-Dar regarding Bilal ibn al-Harith al-Muzani’s seeking rain through the Prophet (ﷺ) during Umar’s time.
Regarding Malik al-Dar, as Hafiz Ibn Hajar noted in Al-Isabah, part six, under the letter “M,” he said: “Malik ibn ‘Iyad, the freed slave of Umar, known as Malik al-Dar, reached maturity, heard from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and narrated from Abu Bakr, Umar, Mu’adh, and Abu Ubaydah. Abu Salih al-Saman and his two sons Awn and Abdullah also narrated from him.” Al-Bukhari included a narration from Malik al-Dar in Al-Tarikh through Abu Salih Dhakwan. Ibn Abi Khaythama also recorded an extended version of the hadith, where a man went to the Prophet’s (ﷺ) grave and asked for rain, and the Prophet (ﷺ) instructed him in a dream to approach Umar. This account is reported by Dawud ibn Amr al-Dabi and collected by al-Baghawi from Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa’id ibn Yarbua al-Makhzumi.
Furthermore, Hafiz al-Khalili described Malik al-Dar in Al-Irshad as “an early reliable follower, widely accepted and praised by other Tabi’un.”
This chain of narrators includes Abu Salih al-Saman and Malik’s two sons, Awn and Abdullah, as well as Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa’id ibn Yarbua al-Makhzumi, attesting to Malik al-Dar’s reliability. His position as Umar’s and Uthman’s appointee over financial matters underscores his trustworthiness. Ibn Hajar, in his Sharh al-Nukhbah, considered him one of the senior Tabi’un, who are generally accepted as reliable narrators.
In Fath al-Bari (vol. 2, Book of Friday Prayer), Hafiz Ibn Hajar commented on this hadith: “Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated with an authentic chain from Abu Salih al-Saman on the authority of Malik al-Dar, who was Umar’s custodian, that there was a drought during Umar’s time. A man came to the Prophet’s (ﷺ) grave and said: ‘O Messenger of God, seek rain for your nation.’ The man was then visited in a dream and told to approach Umar.” Seif narrated in Al-Futuh that Bilal ibn al-Harith al-Muzani, a Companion, was the one who saw this dream.
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