Cold area in hell

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By Mawlana Muhammad Abasoomar, Edited by IlmGateIt may come as a surprise to many that Jahannam also has a cold area. The following are more than enough to convince us of this phenomenon:Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah reported that Rasulullah said,“Jahannam complained to its Rabb saying: ‘Oh my Lord, Parts within me have devoured each other.’ So Allah allowed it two breaths: one in summer and the other in winter. Therefore the extreme heat that you experience (on earth) is caused by the heat of Jahannam and the severe cold too is due to theal-zamharīr. (the extremely cold section of Jahannam).” (Sahīh BukhārīHadith 537,Sahīh Muslim)The following Sahabah, Tābi’ūn, and ‘Ulama have affirmed this cold spot of Jahannam:*.Abdullah Ibn Abbas (Sifat al-Nārof Ibn Abi al-Dunya, pg.101)*.Mujahid (Sifat al-Nārof Ibn Abi al-Dunya, pg.101)*.Ikrimah (al-Takhwif min al-Nār, pg. 81)*.Ka’b al-Ahbār (al-Hilyahof Abu Nu’aym vol.5, pg.406)*.‘Abdul Malik ibn ‘Umayr (Sifat al-Nār, pg.100)*.Zubayd al-Yami (al-Takhwif min al-Nār, pg. 81)All of the above, besides the first Sahābi, are Tābi’ūn.*.Hafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali has a dedicated chapter on “The Extreme Cold of Jahannam” in his bookal-Takwif min al-Nar, pgs. 80-81.*.Allāmah ‘Aynī has stated in his commentary ofSahih Bukhari, “There is no reason to reject this ‘cold spot’ of Jahannam.”*.He also said, “Matters of the hereafter should not be analyzed with the experiences of this world. (Umdat al-Qarivol.4, pg. 33)*.Hafiz Ibn Hajar has also mentioned a similar discussion in his commentary ofBukharititledFath al-Barihadith 537.*.Mulla ‘Ali Qari inMirqāthadith:591.A Brief Explanation of the Hadith“In very hot weather delay the Zuhr prayer till it becomes (a bit) cooler…”The reason for this directive is so that there could be more people attending the Zuhr salah if it is offered in the cooler period, [as compared] to if it was offered in the extreme heat.Many Fuqāha (jurists) have understood an overriding principle from the above Hadith (and its likes) that the time for the congregational salāh will be adjusted within its permissible timings to suite a larger congregation.“…because the severity of heat is from the raging of the Hellfire.”This part is explained further by Rasulullah in the next few sentences:“The fire of Hell complained to its Lord saying: O Lord! My parts are eating (destroying) one another.”The “complaint” of Jahannam: was it a verbal one or an understood one?Several Muhaddithūn (Hadith scholars) have written that since nothing is out of the Power of Allah , this can be understood as a verbal complaint for which Almighty Allah would have given Jahannam the ability.“So Allah allowed it two breaths, one in the winter and the other in the summer.”These [are] two breaths that Allah allows Jahannam to exhale. One [is in the] summer, and through this exhaling the heat of the world is obviously dramatically affected, and as a result the heat within Jahannam is lowered.The breath in the winter is understood in two ways. One group of classical Hadith commentators have accepted this on its apparent meaning. That is: when Jahannam exhales in winter, it exhales from a cold region within Jahannam. Therefore this cold that emerges therefrom affects the climate in the world proportionately.The writer concurs with this explanation.(Fath al-Bari, Hadith 537 and‘Umdat al-Qari, Hadith 537)Another group of Hadith commentators state that this breath in winter is actually an inhaling rather than exhaling. They state that Jahannam actually inhales air from our atmosphere during our winter, thereby draining it from its heat and leaving us in the cold.(Fath al-Mulhimvol.4, pg.328, Hadith 1408)This also explains the last part of the Hadith in question:“The breath in the summer is at the time when you feel the severest heat and the breath in the winter is at the time when you feel the severest cold.”And Allah knows best