Hadith: Some of My servants have entered the morning as believers in Me and some as disbelievers

عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ الجُهَنِيِّ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ: صَلَّى لَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ صَلاَةَ الصُّبْحِ بِالحُدَيْبِيَةِ عَلَى إِثْرِ سَمَاءٍ كَانَتْ مِنَ اللَّيْلَةِ، فَلَمَّا انْصَرَفَ أَقْبَلَ عَلَى النَّاسِ، فَقَالَ: هَلْ تَدْرُونَ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ؟ قَالُوا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ، قَالَ: "أَصْبَحَ مِنْ عِبَادِي مُؤْمِنٌ بِي وَكَافِرٌ، فَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ: مُطِرْنَا بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَرَحْمَتِهِ، فَذَلِكَ مُؤْمِنٌ بِي وَكَافِرٌ بِالكَوْكَبِ، وَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ: بِنَوْءِ كَذَا وَكَذَا، فَذَلِكَ كَافِرٌ بِي وَمُؤْمِنٌ بِالكَوْكَبِ".
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]

Zayd ibn Khālid al-Juhani reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the Fajr prayer at Al-Hudaybiyah after a rainfall during the night. At the conclusion of prayer, he turned toward the people and said: "Do you know what your Lord has said?" They replied: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "He has said: 'Some of My servants have entered the morning as believers in Me and some as disbelievers. He who says 'We have had a rainfall due to the grace and mercy of Allah' believes in Me and disbelieves in the stars; and he who says 'We have had a rainfall due to the rising of such and such star' disbelieves in Me and believes in the stars.'"
Sahih/Authentic. - [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Explanation

Zayd ibn Khālid al-Juhani reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) led the Companions in the Fajr prayer while they were at Al-Hudaybiyah after a rainfall in the night. After the prayer, he asked the people: Do you know what your Lord has said? They replied: Allah and His Messenger know best. He replied that He said: Some of My servants have entered the morning as believers in Me and some as disbelievers. In other words, they fell under two categories the night before after the rainfall. Those who said 'we have had a rainfall due to Allah's grace and mercy - that is they believe that rain is part of Allah's creation, not created by the stars, and that it comes down by Allah's command and determination, out of His kindness, mercy, and bounty toward His servants, as the verse reads: {It is He Who sends down rain after they have lost hope, and spreads His mercy. He is the Guardian, the Praiseworthy} - those are believers in Allah Almighty and disbelievers in the stars, because they think that the emergence of the stars has no impact on rainfall. Yet, those who attribute rainfall to the stars are disbelievers in Allah Almighty and believers in the stars. Disbelief here probably refers to real disbelief, for the real believer is mentioned as opposed to that. So, the word disbelief is taken to apply to those who believe that rainfall is caused by the stars, not by Allah, Exalted be He. In the past, when a star rose in the east and another declined in the west, and there was a rainfall or wind afterward, some of the Arabs would attribute that to the rising star, while others would attribute it to the declining one, believing that it really created the rainfall and brought it into existence; and they would say the phrase mentioned in the Hadīth. Hence, the Shariah prohibited such a statement, lest some may have the same belief or speak in a similar way. So, whoever attributes rainfall to Allah Almighty and recognizes His blessing in it is grateful to Him; but if anyone attributes it to something else, like the stars, the ruling needs to be addressed in some detail. If he attributes rainfall to the stars believing that they create and bring it into existence, he has committed a major disbelief and denied the favor of Allah Almighty in this regard and unjustly ascribed it to other than Him. But if he believes that the emergence of the stars is a reason for rainfall and that Allah is the One Who created it and sent it down, this belief is erroneous, but it is not a major disbelief. Another type is those who believe that rainfall comes from Allah Almighty, and the stars have no effect on that, but rain came down at the time of the star's appearance. This belief is permissible and there is nothing wrong with that. Yet, it is more appropriate to not use the wording mentioned in the Hadīth: We have had a rainfall due to such and such star.