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Fatwa CenterZamhareer is section of Hellfire
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. I have some questions about the cold section named Zamhareer in Hellfire. Why was it created? Is it more severe than the fire? Was it created to punish those who deserve a more severe punishment? Is it the most severe punishment in Hell? Does it have a different kind of purpose than that of the fire? Is the punishment different than that of the fire? Was it specifically described for some sins or some persons? Also, I have read, but without any reports on the authenticity of these claims, that someone said that the cold section named Zamhareer in Hellfire is only for the sinners of the progeny of Messenger Muhammed, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Is this true, and are there any reports on whether that is authentic, good, weak, very weak, or fabricated?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
One of the punishments that Allah, The Almighty, has prepared for the people of Hellfire - may Allah safeguard us from it with His grace and favor - is the Zamhareer, i.e. extreme cold. ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood 
said, “Zamhareer is a kind of torture.” Regarding the verse (which means): {And other (punishments) of its type (in various) kinds} [Quran 38:58], he said, “It is a reference to Zamhareer.”
Scholars said that Zamhareer means extreme cold. Among the proofs that Zamhareer is a section in Hellfire is the following hadeeth:
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “Hellfire complained to its Lord and said, ‘My Lord, my parts are consuming each other.’ So He allowed it to take two breaths, one in the winter and one in the summer. They are what you feel of extreme heat (in summer) and of extreme cold (in winter)." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Al-Bayhaqi in his book Al-Asmaa' wa As-Sifaat, and Ibn As-Sunni in his book ‘Amal Al-Yawm wal-Laylah , cited the following as part of a long hadeeth with a weak chain of narration, “Allah, The Exalted, said to Hellfire, ‘Indeed, a slave of Mine has sought refuge with Me from your Zamhareer; I hold you as a witness that I have granted him refuge.’ The Companions asked, ‘What is the Zamhareer of Hellfire?’ He replied, ‘It is an abode in which the disbeliever is thrown and where he is torn apart by its extreme cold...’”
The fact that extreme cold exists in Hellfire given its extreme heat is not problematic, because Zamhareer is torture, and Hellfire is the abode of torture, and Zamhareer is one of its levels. Al-Haafith said in Fat-h Al-Baari, “Zamhareer means extreme cold; some found it problematic that extreme cold would be found in the burning Hellfire. However, it is not problematic because what is meant by Hellfire is its location, and there is a level of Zamhareer in it...”
As-Suyooti 
said, “There are parts of Hell in which there is a burning fire and other parts in which there is Zamhareer, and they are not in the same place.” [Sharh Al-Muwatta']
We do not know of any text in the Quran or the Sunnah indicating which punishment is more severe in Hell, its burning heat or its Zamhareer. Moreover, we do not know of any text in the Quran or Sunnah underlining that Zamhareer is punishment for certain sins or categories of people. We implore Allah to safeguard us from Hellfire. We did not find any hadeeth, whether sound, good, or weak, to this effect in the books and references available to us. As for the hadeeth cited by Ibn As-Sunni and Al-Bayhaqi which we mentioned above, “It is an adobe into which the disbeliever shall be thrown,” its chain of narration is weak, as has been stated above.
Also, whoever claims that it is only for the sinners of the progeny of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is required to bring forth evidence to support his claim; otherwise, he would be telling a lie about Allah and His Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
Allah knows best.
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