Benefits of the Hadith: (When the heat becomes intense, cool off before praying...)

The Shaykh : In this hadith, there is a command to cool off before praying when the heat becomes intense. Is this command here a command of permissibility and dispensation, or is it a command of recommendation, or is it a command of obligation? All of this is possible. It is possible that it is for dispensation, because the original ruling is to perform the prayer at its time, so the command to delay it afterwards would be a dispensation. And if it is a dispensation, then one looks at what is most comfortable for people. It was also said that it is a legislative command. Then, is it obligatory or not obligatory? There is a detailed explanation in this. The important point is the permissibility of cooling off before the midday prayer when the heat becomes intense. This is the correct view: that it is prescribed. Then, is it obligatory or not? One looks at the situation. If attending the prayer during the heat involves hardship that removes khushu' (humility), then cooling off is obligatory. And among the benefits of this hadith is that cooling off is general, whether in residence or in travel. That was stated explicitly regarding travel: Then he stood up to give the call to prayer and said: "Cool off." Then he stood up to give the call to prayer and said: "Cool off," until they saw the shadow of the dunes. This means that the sun had passed its zenith by a significant amount, and this is what achieves the cooling off. As for what people used to do in the past, delaying the sun's zenith by an hour and a quarter, meaning forty-five minutes, or by an hour, meaning sixty minutes, this does not suffice. Why, O Jabir? Why does it not suffice?
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, because the cooling off has not been achieved. In fact, this time might be when the heat is at its most intense. Cooling off means bringing the performance of the prayer closer to the time of the afternoon prayer. And among the benefits of this hadith is the indication of seeking khushu' in prayer, because if a person is in intense heat, his khushu' will decrease, because the heat is disturbing and causes the heart to be preoccupied. Do we say the same about heating up? For example, if a person stands up for the dawn prayer and needs to perform the full ritual bath, and he bathes, do we say: he should not pray as long as he is shivering from the cold, so let him warm up first and then pray?
The answer is: Yes, because the cause is the same, which is khushu', and it is the loss of khushu'. And among the benefits of this hadith is the excellence of the teachings of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). How excellent, how beautiful, how clear, and how explicit they are. This is where he linked the ruling to its cause. He said: And among the benefits of this hadith is the existence of the Fire now, and the Qur'an and the Sunnah have indicated this. As for the Qur'an, Allah the Exalted said: "Wa 'adda" is a past tense verb, and "preparation" means arrangement. As for the Sunnah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was shown the Fire while he was praying the eclipse prayer, and he witnessed it with his own eyes and saw the people being tormented in it. If someone asks: Where is the location of the Fire? We say: It appears that its location is in the lowest depths, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that the soul of the disbeliever is ordered by Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) to be written in Sijjin in the seventh lower earth. If someone asks: We do not see it now, perhaps we might dig to a great depth and not see it? We say: It is not necessary for us to see the unseen matters that are hidden from us. We have nothing in them except mere... except mere submission. And what is not revealed today may be revealed after a while. And among the benefits of this hadith is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) may release heat from the Fire until it reaches the earth, as He said:
If someone asks: If we are in the northern part of the earth or in the far southern part of the earth, and they have only cold, do we say: If the summer season, which is hot in other regions, enters, do they cool off before praying? The answer is: No, because His saying: means delay it until the weather cools down. And these people's weather is cold, so they do not need to delay the prayer.