Salat-ul-Istisqa'

Q: What is the scholars' opinion concerning some people who, before performing Salat-ul-Istisqa' (Prayer for rain), share the price of a cow or a bull, and then take it to the top of a certain mountain in a specific manner and slaughter the animal and afterwards they perform (Part No. 2; Page No. 199) Salat-ul-Istisqa'? The slaughtered animal is cooked in several vessels each of which belongs to a subfraction that distributes its portion after being cooked. Please note Your Eminence that there is no paved way to ascend the mountain. Rather, the youth - not to mention the elderly - face great difficultly in ascending it. O Your Eminence! Is their act this permissible? Is there a basis for it in the purified Shari`ah (Islamic Law)? They say: No sooner we distribute the meat - or sometimes even before we distribute it - than the rain falls before we descend from the mountain. This makes them stick to their opinion and give it precedence over the Shar`y (Islamic legal) texts. O Your Eminence! Please answer this my question to convey your reply to my tribe in the hope that this benefits and guides them to the truth.

A: Upon the lack of rain, it is prescribed to perform Salat-ul-Istisqa', Du`a' (supplication), give to charity, and the like reported acts. However, it is not an act of Sunnah to slaughter an animal, etc. This is a Bid`ah (innovation in the religion).May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.