Should we ask God to stop sending water from the sky?
Should we ask God to stop sending water from the sky? Aft er a respite of five days, it started raining again in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu. The city is limping back to normalcy and yet to recover from the devastating effects of recent rains. In this situation, people are praying to God to stop rain. Rain is a mercy from God. Imagine a world without rains! Mankind, animals and plants will perish. Having said that, how are we to ask God to protect us from its ill effects? There is guidance from Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about it: When it is cloudy and it is about to rain, we have to ask, ‘ O God, (bring) beneficial rain clouds.’ (Ref: Al-Bukhari, cf. Al-Asqalani, Fathul-Bari 2/518 ) When it is raining , ask ‘O God, I ask You for the good of it and seek refuge in You against its evil. ’ (Ref: Abu Dawud 4/326, Ibn Majah 2/1228). When there is a perennial rain, ask, ‘O God, let...