What are the recommended actions to follow during in the event of lightning and thunder?

Among the etiquettes and actions that are recommended to follow upon hearing thunder and seeing lightning is to recite the supplications transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). These include,
"O Allah, do not kill us with Your wrath, do not destroy us with Your punishment, and grant us well-being before this occurs"
(recorded by al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad).

It is also recommended to avoid pointing at lightning or following it with the eyes, but adhere to the safety instructions and guidelines issued by relevant authorities and scientific studies in such circumstances. These include:

• Avoiding standing near trees.
• Taking cover immediately in the nearest building when outdoors. Avoiding standing on elevated areas or near metal towers, as these are targets for lightning.
• Avoiding the use of phones or touching metal objects, as they act as effective conductors of electricity and are likely to attract electric discharges.

 

Recommended supplications for recitation

The Prophetic Sunnah includes several recommended supplications to recite upon hearing thunder or seeing lightning:

1. Abdullah Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say when hearing thunder and seeing lightning,
   "O Allah, do not kill us with Your wrath, do not destroy us with Your punishment, and grant us well-being before this occurs" (recorded by al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad).
2. Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that whenever he heard thunder, he would stop talking and recite, “The thunder glorifies His praise, and the angels too for awe of Him” (Quran, 13:13). He would then say, “Indeed, this is a stern warning to the inhabitants of the Earth.”
3. ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that when a strong wind blew, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say, "O Allah, grant me its goodness, the best of what it holds, and the best of what it was sent with. And I seek refuge in You from its evil, from the evil within it, and from the evil with which it was sent." ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "When the sky became overcast, the color of his face would change. He would pace back and forth, going out and coming in. But when the rain finally fell, he would relax, and I could see the relief clearly on his face. So, I asked him about it, and he said,
   “Perhaps, O ‘Aisha, it is like what the people of ‘Ad said, ‘When they saw it as a cloud approaching their valleys, they said: This is a cloud bringing us rain (Quran, 46:24)”’ (recorded in the Sahih of Muslim).

 

Other recommended actions

Among the recommended actions during thunder and lightning is to avoid pointing at the lightning or following it with one’s gaze. Urwah Ibn Al-Zubayr said,
"If any of you sees lightning or rain, do not point at it" (recorded by Imam al-Shafi’i in his Musnad, Abdul Raziq in his Musannaf, and al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan). The scholars explain that the underlying reason for the prohibition is the potential harm to the eyes caused by intense, sudden lightning, which Allah Almighty describes in the Quran,
"The lightning almost snatches away their sight" (Quran, 2:20).

And Allah Almighty knows best.