Hellfire Breathing Hadith: Two Breaths, Summer and Winter

On the hottest afternoon of the year, or on a morning so cold it hurts to breathe, the Prophet ﷺ gave us something to think about. In an authentic hadith he said the Fire complained to its Lord and was allowed two breaths, one in winter and one in summer. This is the hellfire breathing hadith. Here we look at its wording in Sahih al-Bukhari, how scholars have understood it, what it teaches about prayer in the heat, and the hope that comes with it.

The hadith: the Fire was allowed two breaths

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

Imam Muslim records the same words (Sahih Muslim 617a). The Arabic word for the bitter cold is zamharir, and we will meet it again below, in a verse about Paradise.

Take heed: a Fire so vast that its own parts consume one another is not something to treat lightly. The heat we complain about in summer is described here as only a breath of it.

The same hadith, and praying in the heat

In another narration from Abu Hurairah and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), the Prophet ﷺ connected this to the time of prayer:

Muslim has it too (Sahih Muslim 615a), and in Sahih al-Bukhari 536 both parts come together in one narration. HadithAnswers explains that the purpose of delaying Zuhr was to let more people attend the congregational prayer in cooler conditions. How and when to apply this today is a question for a qualified local scholar.

Take heed: the Prophet ﷺ did not only tell us about the heat of Jahannam. He let it shape our daily prayer, so that a hot afternoon becomes a reminder five times a week.

Is it literal? How scholars understood it

People often ask how heat and cold can come from Hell when we know seasons follow the earth’s tilt and its path around the sun. Scholars have discussed this hadith for centuries:

• Most read it literally. SeekersGuidance (Shaykh Shuaib Ally) names Qadi ‘Iyad, an-Nawawi, Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr and al-Qurtubi among them, since nothing requires a figurative reading, and leaves how the Fire affects the weather to the unseen.
• Some, such as al-Baydawi, read it figuratively: extreme heat and cold are reminders of the Fire that should turn people away from sin.
• HadithAnswers notes that many hadith scholars took the complaint as real speech, since nothing is beyond Allah’s power, citing Fath al-Bari, ‘Umdat al-Qari and Fath al-Mulhim.

Knowing the physical causes of the seasons does not cancel what lies behind them in the unseen. Either way, the lesson is the same: the heat and cold we feel are a reminder of the Fire.

At-Tirmidhi narrates a wording that names the two breaths: zamharir (freezing cold) in winter and samum (scorching heat) in summer (Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 2592, graded Sahih by Darussalam). At-Tirmidhi himself notes that one narrator in that chain is not strong, but that the hadith comes through other routes, so we mention it without an Arabic card.

No coolness in Hell

The Quran describes the people of the Fire with words that make our worst summer feel mild:

Take heed: in this world, when the heat is too much, we find shade, water or a fan. The verse tells us there is none of that in Jahannam.

Hope: no burning sun and no freezing cold

Allah describes the people of Paradise with the very word used in the hadith for the bitter cold:

In Tafsir Ibn Kathir, this is explained as Paradise having neither painful heat nor painful cold. And the way there is close. Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

The same hadith is in Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 2572 and Sunan Ibn Majah 4340, both graded Sahih by Darussalam. The Fire that complained to its Lord also speaks for the one who sincerely seeks refuge from it.

How to practise it

• Ask Allah for Paradise and seek refuge from the Fire three times, as in the hadith above. It does not set a time, so you might make it part of your morning or evening.
• On a very hot day, recall “the severity of the heat is from the raging of Jahannam” instead of only complaining about the weather.
• On a cold morning, remember the zamharir, and that Paradise has none of it (Quran 76:13).
• Seek refuge from the punishment of Hell in every salah with the dua after the tashahhud.
• For questions on when to pray Zuhr in extreme heat where you live, ask a qualified local scholar.

Reflection: weather is the one thing everyone talks about. This hadith turns that small talk into remembrance. The summer that makes us sweat and the winter that makes us shiver are both, in the words of the Prophet ﷺ, a breath of something we must never reach.

Key lessons

• The Fire complained to its Lord and was allowed two breaths, one in winter and one in summer (Bukhari 3260, Muslim 617a).
• The most severe heat and the bitter cold we feel are linked to those breaths.
• The Prophet ﷺ told us to delay Zuhr in extreme heat, because that heat is from the raging of Jahannam (Bukhari 533).
• Most scholars read the hadith literally; some read it figuratively. Both see it as a reminder.
• Whoever seeks refuge from the Fire three times, the Fire asks Allah to protect him (Nasa’i 5521).

Questions people ask

A question to reflect on: the next time you complain about the heat or the cold, will it also bring you to seek refuge in Allah from the Fire, three times, and ask Him for a Paradise with neither?

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