Al-Qasama in the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ، سَمِعَ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قَالَ خِلاَلٌ مِنْ خِلاَلِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الطَّعْنُ فِي الأَنْسَابِ وَالنِّيَاحَةُ، وَنَسِيَ الثَّالِثَةَ، قَالَ سُفْيَانُ وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهَا الاِسْتِسْقَاءُ بِالأَنْوَاءِ.
Narrated Sufyan: 'Ubaidullah said: "I heard Ibn `Abbas saying, "Following are some traits of the people of the pre- Islamic period of ignorance (i) to defame the ancestry of other families, (ii) and to wail over the dead." 'Ubaidullah forgot the third trait. Sufyan said, "They say it (i.e. the third trait) was to believe that rain was caused by the influence of stars (i.e. if a special star appears it will rain).