Is it necessary for the istisqa' prayer that there be no clouds in the sky?

Question

What are the conditions of the istisqa' prayer? Is it necessary that there be clouds in the sky or not? Should the istisqa' prayer be performed when there are clouds? What is the ruling on performing the prayer in both cases — whether there are clouds or not? But the case that has arisen here is this: there were no clouds, but the sky was covered with haze (mist); in this situation people went out of the town to perform the prayer — was acting in this way correct or not?

Answer

The presence or absence of clouds has no bearing on this; rather, it depends on need. [ar]وَهُوَ مَسْنُونٌ عِنْدَ الْحَاجَةِ إِلَيْهِ فِي مَوْضِعٍ لَا يَكُونُ لِأَهْلِهِ أَوْدِيَةٌ وَأَنْهَارٌ وَآبَارٌ يَشْرَبُونَ مِنْهَا وَيَسْقُونَ مَوَاشِيَهُمْ وَزُرُوعَهُمْ، أَوْ كَانَ لَهُمْ ذَلِكَ لَكِنْ لَا يَكْفِيهِمْ، فَإِنْ كَانَ كَافِيًا لَا يَسْتَسْقُونَ[/ar] “It (istisqa')

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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