Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in the context of the verses that encourage reflection on the signs of Allah: The author did not complete the verse because this appears in several verses of the Book of Allah. In several verses, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) encourages His servants to travel through the earth and observe how the outcome was for those who came before them.
Among them is the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Qital: So Allah commanded travel, and travel is divided into two types: travel by foot and travel by the heart.
As for travel by foot, it is for a person to travel through the earth on his feet, meaning on his mount, whether a camel, a car, an airplane, or otherwise, so that he may see what happened to the disbelievers and what the condition of the disbelievers was.
As for travel by the heart, this is done by contemplating and reflecting on the reports transmitted about them. The most authentic, most truthful, and most beneficial book that transmits the news of the predecessors is the Book of Allah the Exalted, as Allah the Exalted said: The Qur'an is full of news about the predecessors who denied the messengers and those who supported the messengers. And Allah made clear the outcome of these and those. Therefore, a person should read the verses that contain news about those who came before, and he should ask about their meaning and seek clarification until he is fully aware of the matter.
Likewise, what the Sunnah brought regarding the news of the past, for it came with many beneficial hadiths. And if they are authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they are the most truthful of transmitted news. Then, what the historians transmitted, but one must be cautious regarding what the historians transmitted, because most books of history have no basis and no chain of narration; rather, they are news passed down among people. So one must be cautious of them and strive to trace them carefully.
Then, these news reports that are found in other than the Book and the Sunnah are divided into three categories:
The first category is what our Shari'ah has testified to as invalid. So this must be rejected and its error and falsehood must be clarified so that people are fully aware of it.
The second is what the Book and the Sunnah have supported. So this is accepted on the testimony of the Qur'an and the Sunnah regarding its truth.
The third is what the Qur'an and the Sunnah have not supported. So one suspends judgment on it, because there is no connected chain of narration between us and the previous nations by which we can know the truth of what is transmitted about them. However, it is transmitted and becomes Israelites (Jewish traditions) that are looked into, but one suspends judgment; it is neither accepted nor rejected. This is justice.
Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) referred to the seventh hadith mentioned previously, which is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): This "wise" one means the decisive, intelligent, alert, and one who seizes opportunities. He is the one who disciplines himself, meaning he holds himself accountable, looking at what he neglected from the obligatory, what he did of the forbidden, what he performed of the obligatory, and what he avoided of the forbidden, so that he may rectify himself. This is the wise one. As for the incapable one, he is the one who follows his own desires, leaving his self and his desires to whatever his self desires, he takes it, and whatever his self dislikes, he does not take it, whether it agrees with the Shari'ah of Allah or not. This is the incapable one. And how many are the incapable ones today who follow their own desires and do not care about contradicting the Book and the Sunnah, and do not care about this. We ask Allah for guidance for us and for them. And it means he says, "It will be forgiven for me, I will be upright later, I will perform the obligatory later, I will leave this later," or he says, "Allah will guide me." And if he is advised, he says, "Ask Allah for guidance for me, ask for guidance for me," and the like of that. This is an incapable one. The wise one is the one who acts with decisiveness and effort, holds himself accountable, and has strength in the matter of Allah, in the religion of Allah, and in the Shari'ah of Allah, so that he can control himself. Otherwise, Allah the Exalted says in His Book: We ask Allah to have mercy on us and you with His mercy, and to help us and you in His remembrance, His thanks, and the excellence of His worship.
The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.