2 – The underlying wisdom is to give the worshippers ease, allowing them to perform the prayer in a pleasant atmosphere, free from whatever distracts the heart and strips it of the humility that is the very spirit of prayer. For that reason the scholars have recommended cooling-off (al-ibrād) even for someone praying alone or in his house, since the rationale is identical in every situation.

3 – The cause of extreme heat is a breath from Hell. Allah, exalted is He, permits it to escape, and that is what produces the scorching blast. Al-Bukhārī (537) relates from Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet ﷺ said: “The Fire complained to its Lord, saying, ‘My Lord, parts of me have consumed each other.’ So He allowed it two breaths: one in winter and one in summer. The fiercest heat you feel comes from it, and the bitterest cold you feel comes from it as well.”

• Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ and al-Nawawī said: There is no impediment to taking the report at its literal sense—that the Fire truly complained to its Lord—for there is nothing in existence except that it glorifies Him, though you do not comprehend their glorification.
• The editor adds: This does not contradict observable cosmic phenomena; everything happens by Allah’s command and knowledge.
• Our teacher ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣir al-Saʿdī (may Allah have mercy on him), when discussing this ḥadith, said: There is no conflict between this explanation and the tangible causes, for all of them are part of the causes of heat and cold. A Muslim must affirm the unseen causes mentioned by the Lawgiver and believe in them, while also affirming the sensible, observable causes; whoever denies either of the two is in error.

4 – Ibn Ḥajar says in Fatḥ al-Bārī, in summary: the command to delay (al-ibrād) is one of recommendation. Some have called it mere guidance, while others—whose view ʿIyāḍ and others reported—considered it obligatory. Karmānī, however, overlooked this and transmitted a consensus of non-obligation. Nevertheless, the majority of scholars maintain that, in severe heat, it is recommended to postpone Ẓuhr until the temperature cools, and this applies in hot climates.