Allahumma hawalaina wa la ‘alayna (اللَّهُمَّ حَوَالَيْنَا وَلاَ عَلَيْنَا) is the short, decisive dua the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught for moments when rain has tipped from mercy into harm. Translated as “O Allah, around us and not upon us,” it asks Allah to redirect the downpour away from homes, roads and people, onto fields, hills and valleys where the water is still a blessing. The phrase is recorded three times in Kitab al-Istisqa’ (the Book of the Rain Prayer) of Sahih al-Bukhari, hadiths 1013, 1014 and 1015, narrated by Anas ibn Malik (RA).
This guide covers the meaning, the full and short Arabic versions, a word-by-word grammar breakdown, the famous “two Fridays” hadith behind the dua, exactly when a Muslim should recite it, the related sunnah duas for rain and thunder, and the quiet lesson in adab the wording teaches.
What “Allahumma Hawalaina Wala Alaina” Means
The short form of the dua translates as “O Allah, around us and not upon us.” The fuller version recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 1013 adds a list of places the rain may instead fall: “O Allah, around us and not upon us. O Allah, upon the plateaus, the hills, the bellies of valleys and where trees grow.” Read in one breath the line is a careful piece of asking: it does not request that Allah withhold the rain. It asks Him to send it somewhere it remains a mercy.
That distinction matters. In Madinah’s climate, rain is rarely refused. The complaint that triggered the dua was not that rain came, but that it came so heavily for so long that livestock were drowning and routes were impassable. The Prophet ﷺ did not undo the answered prayer; he steered it. The dua is a model of how a Muslim asks Allah to adjust a blessing without asking Him to take it back.
Linguistically the wording is also remarkably economical: four short words in the short version (Allahumma + hawalayna + wa la + ‘alayna) and one preposition repeated with opposite meanings (“around” vs. “upon”). That contrast is the rhetorical hinge of the line.
Key takeaways:
- The short form is “O Allah, around us and not upon us.” The long form adds redirect targets (hills, valleys, tree-roots).
- The dua is narrated by Anas ibn Malik (RA) in Sahih al-Bukhari 1013, 1014 and 1015, with a parallel in Sahih Muslim 897.
- It does not ask Allah to stop the rain. It asks Him to redirect it onto land that still benefits.
- Recited once is sufficient. The Prophet ﷺ said it a single time from the minbar and the clouds split around Madinah.
Allahumma Hawalaina Wala Alaina in Arabic (Full + Short)
The full version with diacritics, as it appears in Sahih al-Bukhari 1013:
اللَّهُمَّ حَوَالَيْنَا وَلاَ عَلَيْنَا، اللَّهُمَّ عَلَى الآكَامِ وَالظِّرَابِ وَبُطُونِ الأَوْدِيَةِ وَمَنَابِتِ الشَّجَرِ
Without diacritics, as commonly typeset in plain Arabic:
اللهم حوالينا ولا علينا، اللهم على الآكام والظراب وبطون الأودية ومنابت الشجر
Related:
Transliteration
Allahumma hawalayna wa la ‘alayna, Allahumma ‘alal-akami waz-zhirabi wa butunil-awdiyati wa manabitish-shajar.
The short form recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 1015 keeps only the opening clause: Allahumma hawalayna wa la ‘alayna. Both forms are authentically transmitted; reciting either one is sufficient.
Word-by-Word Grammar Breakdown
Most translations render the line as a single English sentence and leave it there. The Arabic, however, is doing more work in fewer words than the translation suggests. Here is what each word is actually carrying:
- اللَّهُمَّ (Allahumma) — “O Allah.” A vocative form unique to addressing Allah, equivalent to ya Allah but more emphatic. The doubled m at the end is the original vocative mim that intensifies the address.
- حَوَالَيْنَا (hawalayna) — “around us.” A locative adverb built on the root h-w-l (to surround, encircle). The dual ending (-ay) implies “on all sides,” and the 1st-person plural pronoun (-na) attaches it to the speaker’s community. It does not mean “near us” or “next to us”; it means encircling us on every side.
- وَلاَ (wa la) — “and not.” A simple coordinating conjunction with a negation, placed deliberately mid-clause to set up the contrast.
- عَلَيْنَا (‘alayna) — “upon us.” The preposition ‘ala denotes downward direction onto a surface. Pairing hawalayna (“encircling around”) with ‘alayna (“falling upon”) is the rhetorical hinge of the dua: same speakers, two opposite trajectories for the rain.
- الآكَامِ (al-akam) — “the hilltops” or small mounds: rising ground that benefits from rain without becoming dangerous.
- الظِّرَابِ (al-zhirab) — “the small hills,” slightly larger than akam; classical lexicons place them between mounds and proper mountains.
- بُطُونِ الأَوْدِيَةِ (butun al-awdiyah) — literally “the bellies of the valleys,” meaning the lowest channels where flood water naturally collects without harming settled land.
- مَنَابِتِ الشَّجَرِ (manabit ash-shajar) — “the growing places of trees”: the woodlands and orchards where rain becomes nourishment rather than damage.
Read this way, the long version is a careful map of where rain remains useful. The Prophet ﷺ was not pushing the rain into the wilderness arbitrarily; he was listing every kind of terrain where water still gives life.
The Hadith Behind the Dua: Two Fridays in Madinah
The setting is one of the most quoted scenes from the Madinan period. Anas ibn Malik (RA) narrates that during a Friday khutbah, a Bedouin entered the masjid and stood at the door. “O Messenger of Allah, livestock have perished and the roads have been cut off — ask Allah to give us rain.” The Prophet ﷺ raised his hands and said three times: “Allahumma aghithna” (“O Allah, send us rain”). The sky, Anas says, was clear; not a wisp of cloud. Before they had left the masjid, clouds gathered. It rained without stopping until the following Friday.
The next Friday, again during the khutbah, the same man (or another, in a different chain) stood and said: “O Messenger of Allah, homes have collapsed and the property is drowning — ask Allah to hold it back from us.” The Prophet ﷺ smiled and raised his hands. He said: “Allahumma hawalayna wa la ‘alayna, Allahumma ‘alal-akami waz-zhirabi wa butunil-awdiyati wa manabitish-shajar.” Anas reports that he then watched the clouds split apart around Madinah and continue raining on the surrounding terrain while the city sat in sunshine. The hadith is narrated in three consecutive chains as Sahih al-Bukhari 1013, 1014 and 1015 (Kitab al-Istisqa’, the Book of the Rain Prayer), with a parallel in Sahih Muslim 897.
How to Pronounce It (Video)
The two pronunciation points beginners miss most often are the long aa in hawalaayna (it is not hawal-aina) and the soft sigh sound of the ‘ayn at the start of ‘alayna. The video below recites the phrase at a measured pace so each syllable is audible:
When to Recite Allahumma Hawalaina Wala Alaina
The dua’s appropriate context is heavy rain that has crossed from blessing into harm. The Prophet ﷺ reserved it for exactly this situation; he did not recite it during ordinary rain. Practically, a Muslim recites it when:
- Rain is flooding homes, blocking roads, or stranding people.
- A storm is damaging crops, livestock, or farmland that the community depends on.
- Continuous rainfall threatens lives or essential travel (Hajj routes, ambulance access, school runs).
- Flash floods are imminent in low-lying districts or wadis.
There is no fixed count and no required posture. The Prophet ﷺ recited it once, from the minbar, raising his hands as he did during the istisqa’ (rain prayer) the previous Friday (Sahih al-Bukhari 1029 records the raising of hands during istisqa’). Reciting it once with presence of heart is enough; repetition is allowed but not required. For ordinary, beneficial rain a Muslim instead says “Allahumma sayyiban nafi’an” (see the next section).
Related Sunnah Duas for Rain
When the Rain Begins: Allahumma Sayyiban Nafi‘an
When rain first started to fall, the Prophet ﷺ would say: “Allahumma sayyiban nafi’an” (اللَّهُمَّ صَيِّبًا نَافِعًا) — “O Allah, [make this] a beneficial downpour.” Narrated by Aisha (RA) in Sahih al-Bukhari 1032. This is the everyday rain dua; reach for it first and only switch to the redirection dua if the rain becomes harmful.
When You Hear Thunder
On hearing thunder, the Companion Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr would stop his conversation and say: “Subhana alladhi yusabbihu ar-ra’du bi-hamdihi wal-mala’ikatu min khifatihi” — “Glory be to the One whom the thunder praises with His praise, and the angels too, out of awe of Him.” This echoes the verse in Surah Ar-Ra’d: “And the thunder exalts [Allah] with His praise, and the angels [as well] from fear of Him” (Quran 13:13). Recorded in al-Muwatta’ of Imam Malik and in al-Adab al-Mufrad of Imam Bukhari.
After the Rain Stops: Mutirna Bi-Fadlillahi Wa Rahmatihi
When the rain ends, the Prophet ﷺ taught his Companions to attribute it correctly to Allah’s mercy rather than to the stars or weather systems. He said Allah declares: “Among My slaves are those who believe in Me and those who disbelieve. As for the one who said, ‘We have been given rain by the bounty and mercy of Allah’ (mutirna bi-fadlillahi wa rahmatihi) — he is a believer in Me and a disbeliever in the stars.” Narrated by Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani in Sahih al-Bukhari 846 and Sahih Muslim 71.
Lessons in Adab from the Wording
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, in Fath al-Bari, his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, draws attention to the precise wording of the dua. Three points are worth holding on to.
First, the Prophet ﷺ did not ask Allah to stop the rain. He asked for redirection. A blessing Allah has granted is not something a believer hands back; it is something a believer asks Him to fit to need. The dua models a quiet adab in supplication: we ask Allah to shape His gift, not to withdraw it.
Second, the Prophet ﷺ named the places where the rain should fall. He did not leave it at “elsewhere.” He listed hills, valleys, and tree-roots. This is the same precision the Quran teaches in supplication: “And when My servants ask you concerning Me — indeed I am near. I respond to the call of the caller when he calls upon Me” (Quran 2:186). Specific asking is encouraged.
Third, the Prophet ﷺ smiled before he raised his hands (Bukhari 1013). The hadith records that he smiled at the contrast: a week earlier his community had begged for rain; now they were begging it slow. The smile carries the disposition we should bring to dua. The believer comes to Allah aware that whatever He sends, including the inconveniences, came as an answered prayer somewhere upstream.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “Allahumma hawalaina wa la alaina” mean in English?
It means “O Allah, [let the rain fall] around us and not upon us.” The longer version recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 1013 continues: “O Allah, upon the hills, the small mountains, the bellies of valleys and where trees grow.” The dua asks Allah to redirect heavy rain onto land that still benefits from it, rather than to stop the rain entirely.
Which hadith is the dua to stop rain from?
The dua is narrated by Anas ibn Malik (RA) in Sahih al-Bukhari, in Kitab al-Istisqa’ (the Book of the Rain Prayer), hadiths 1013, 1014 and 1015 through different chains of narration. A parallel narration is recorded in Sahih Muslim 897. The Prophet ﷺ recited it from the minbar during a Friday khutbah in Madinah after a week of continuous rain.
When should I recite the dua to stop rain?
Recite it when rain has become harmful: when flooding threatens homes, when roads are cut off, when crops or livestock are drowning, or when storms put lives at risk. Do not recite it during ordinary, beneficial rain. For everyday rain the sunnah is “Allahumma sayyiban nafi’an” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1032). The Prophet ﷺ reserved Allahumma hawalaina for genuinely excessive rainfall.
Is it permissible to ask Allah to stop the rain?
Yes. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself did this when the rain became excessive, which establishes the permissibility directly. The sunnah, however, is to ask for redirection rather than cessation: he said “around us and not upon us” and listed places the rain should still fall (hills, valleys, woodlands). Asking Allah to redirect a blessing is the modeled form, not asking Him to withdraw it.
How many times should I recite Allahumma hawalaina wa la alaina?
There is no fixed count. Anas (RA) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ recited the dua once from the minbar and the clouds split around Madinah immediately. Reciting it once with presence of heart is sufficient. Repetition is permissible but not required, and there is no specific number transmitted from the Prophet ﷺ in any authentic narration of this dua.
What is the full version of the dua to stop rain?
The full version is: “Allahumma hawalayna wa la ‘alayna, Allahumma ‘alal-akami waz-zhirabi wa butunil-awdiyati wa manabitish-shajar” (O Allah, around us and not upon us. O Allah, upon the hilltops, the small hills, the bellies of valleys and where trees grow). This is the wording in Sahih al-Bukhari 1013. The shorter version (Sahih al-Bukhari 1015) keeps only the opening clause: “Allahumma hawalayna wa la ‘alayna.” Both are authentic; either is sufficient.
Memorise both the short and full versions of Allahumma hawalaina wa la ‘alayna and pair them with the everyday rain duas in this guide. When the next storm comes, you will already know what to say, in the wording the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ chose, for the moment Allah’s mercy needs gently steered.
