132 – Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When the heat becomes intense, delay (the Ẓuhr) prayer until it cools, for the fierceness of the heat comes from the scorching breath of Hell.” Agreed upon (1).

Vocabulary of the ḥadith:
• ishtadda (became intense): originally ishtadada; the first dāl is assimilated into the second. The verb follows the iftial pattern and conveys the sense of strength or severity.
• abridū (delay until it cools): begins with a hamzah carrying fatḥah and has a kasrah on the rāʾ; it means, “enter the Ẓuhr prayer during the cooler period.”
• bi-ṣ-ṣalāh (“with the prayer”): the prefixed bāʾ serves to make the verb transitive, i.e., “enter into the Ẓuhr prayer once the extreme midday heat has broken.”
• fa-inna shiddata al-ḥarr (“for the severity of the heat”): the initial fāʾ is causal, clarifying that the reason for delaying is the intense heat, which erodes the worshipper’s reverence.
• fayḥ Jahannam (“the hot blast of Hell”): with a fatḥah on the fāʾ, a silent yāʾ, and an undotted ḥāʾ; it refers to the violent boiling and fervor of Hellfire.
• Jahannam: most linguists hold it to be a foreign word that was arabised; hence it is diptote because of its foreign origin and status as a proper name. Al-Ṣiḥāḥ lists it among the quadriliteral forms.

Lessons derived from the ḥadith:
1 – It is recommended to perform the Ẓuhr prayer later on days of oppressive heat—postponing it from its earliest time until the temperature eases. This recommendation represents the view of the four Imāms and the majority of scholars.