1267 — Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr, who said: I heard Abbad ibn Tamim narrating to my father, from his uncle: that he witnessed the Prophet ﷺ go out to the prayer ground to pray for rain. He faced the qiblah, turned his cloak inside out, and prayed two rak'ahs.

= Also narrated by Abu Dawud (1165), al-Tirmidhi (566) and (567), and al-Nasa'i 3/156, 156–157, and 163, via the chain of Hisham ibn Ishaq, with this same chain of transmission. Al-Tirmidhi said: a hasan sahih hadith.

It is also found in Musnad Ahmad (2039) and Sahih Ibn Hibban (2862).

His saying "mutabaddhilan" (in a plain state) is from tabaddhul, which means abandoning adornment and the care for a fine, beautiful appearance, out of humility. And "mutarassilan" means proceeding with deliberation.

His saying "and he prayed two rak'ahs just as he prays on the Eid" — this view was held by Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Makhul, al-Shafi'i, and Ibn Jarir al-Tabari. The majority of scholars, however, held that he says the takbir in them as in all other prayers, a single opening takbir. They responded to the hadith of Ibn Abbas that the meaning of his saying "just as he prays on the two Eids" refers to the number, the audible recitation, and the fact that the two rak'ahs come before the sermon.

His saying "and he did not deliver a sermon like this sermon of yours" — al-Zayla'i said in Nasb al-Rayah 2/242: its implication is that he did deliver a sermon, but he did not deliver two sermons as is done on Friday; rather, he delivered one. Thus he negated the specific type but did not negate the general category. Supporting what al-Zayla'i held is the hadith of Aisha in Abu Dawud (1173) that he ﷺ delivered a single sermon. It is a hasan hadith.

The unnamed governor — his name appears in the narration of al-Nufayli as al-Walid ibn Utbah. Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah said it was Uqbah, but that is an error. The correct statement is that of al-Nufayli: he was al-Walid ibn Utbah ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Harb, and he was the governor of Medina for his uncle Mu'awiyah. Al-Dhahabi described him in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala 3/534 as being a man of generosity, forbearance, nobility, and piety. Ya'qub al-Fasawi said: the people of Syria wanted al-Walid ibn Utbah for the caliphate, but he was stabbed and died after the death of Mu'awiyah ibn Yazid.

(1) Its chain is sahih. Sufyan is Ibn Uyaynah, and Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr is Ibn Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm, and the uncle of Abbad is Abdullah ibn Zayd al-Mazini.