Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-84b

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on the Prohibition of Torture by Fire
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent us on an expedition and said to us, "If you find so- and-so (he named two persons belonging to the Quraish) commit them to the fire." When we were on the verge of departure, he said to us, "I ordered you to burn so-and-so, but it is Allah Alone Who punishes with the fire. So if you find them put them to death."

بعثنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في بعث فقال إن وجدتم فلانا وفلانا لرجلين من قريش سماهما فأحرقوهما بالنار ثم قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حين أردنا الخروج إني كنت أمرتكم أن تحرقوا فلانا وفلانا وإن النار لا يعذب بها إلا الله فإن وجدتموهما فاقتلوهما

Riyad as-Salihin 1609

Al-Bukhari narrated it
And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said

We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in a journey when he drew apart (to relieve nature). In his absence, we saw a red bird which had two young ones with it. We caught them and the red mother bird came, beating the earth with its wings. In the meantime the Prophet (ﷺ) returned and said, "Who has put this bird to distress on account of its young? Return them to her." He (ﷺ) also noticed a mound of ants which we had burnt up. He asked, "Who has set fire to this?"

كنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في سفر فانطلق لحاجته فرأينا حمرة معها فرخان فأخذنا فرخيها فجاءت الحمرة تعرش فجاء النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال من فجعها هذه بولدها ردوا ولدها إليها ورأى قرية نمل قد حرقناها فقال من حرق هذه

Riyad as-Salihin 1610

We said: We did. He said: It is not permissible to punish with fire except the Lord of Fire Abu Dawud narrated it with a sound chain "

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on the Prohibition of Torture by Fire" meaning that it is not permissible for a person to torture anyone by burning, because torture is possible without it, and torture is possible without it, and hudud punishments can be carried out without that, so burning would be an excess of torture for which there is no need.
Then he mentioned the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) so the Companions relied on that in obedience to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). When they were about to leave, he said:
So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) abrogated his first command with his second command. His first command was that they be burned, and his second command was that they be killed. This indicates that if a person deserves to be killed, he is not burned with fire, but is killed in the ordinary manner according to what the Shari'ah texts require.
And likewise the hadith narrated by Abu Dawud: a type of bird meaning it circles around them, as is the custom that when a bird's young are taken, it circles and cries out due to the loss of its young, because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) placed mercy in the hearts of animals for their young, to the extent that an animal lifts its hoof from its young for fear of harming it, and this is from the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
The ant colony means the community of ants, their burrows, which they burned with fire. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: and he prohibited that.