The Letter Ghayn 1. Gbayth (Rain)
. The Ghaith is mentioned in the Qura'an in many instances. The word Ghaith is soft on the ear and delightful for the body and the soul. The ears like to hear the word Ghaith, while the hearts enjoy its falling.
Rainwater 1s the best type of water there is and the softest, most beneficial and most blessed. This is especially the case when the rainfall is accompanied by lightning and thunder and is then collected in mountainous area.
Rainwater is lighter than the other types of water because it is fresh and did not remain on the ground for a
long time, in which case it would acquire some of the earth's dryness and hard substances. This is why rainwater gets spoiled quickly because it is pure and light.
There are two opinions regarding which is softer and lighter: rainwater that falls in the spring or winter.
Those who prefer winter rainwater say that in winter, the sun's heat is less and it thus evaporates the softest parts of the seawater. In addition, the air then would be clean and void of dust, and consequently, would not be polluted. Hence, rainwater will not dissolve any pollutants while falling, and this is why rainwater is the softest and the lightest.
Those who prefer spring rainwater say that the hot sun then evaporates heavy substances in the air and makes the air itself lighter and cleaner. In this case, rainwater will be the lightest and the softest, at a time when the plants, the trees and the air become ready to receive rainfall.
Ash-Shafey narrated ¢ that Anas bin Malik said, "Once, we were with the Prophet sg when the rain fell. The Prophet b removed his outer garment (until the rain fell on him) saying:
It has just come from its Lord."
We mentioned the Prophet's guidance in invoking Allah for rain and stated that he used to seek the blessings [that Allah endows] in the rain when it falls.