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) stated, in what he quoted from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: In one wording: In another wording: This means that it is surrounded by them. Thus, Hellfire is surrounded by desires, and Paradise is surrounded by what is disliked. Desires are what the soul inclines toward without reason, discernment, regard for religion, or regard for honor. For example, fornication, may Allah protect us from it. The desire for sexual gratification is something the soul often inclines toward. If a person tears this veil, it becomes a cause for him to enter Hellfire. Drinking intoxicants is something the soul loves and inclines toward, which is why the Lawgiver established a deterrent punishment for it, namely flogging. If a person tears this veil and drinks intoxicants, it leads him to Hellfire, may Allah protect us from it. The love of wealth is one of the soul’s desires. If a person steals, he loves to accumulate wealth; he loves to steal in order to seize the wealth his soul desires. If he steals, he has torn this veil and will reach Hellfire, may Allah protect us from it. Deception in order to increase the price of a commodity is something the soul desires. The soul desires it, so a person does it, tearing the veil between him and Hellfire, and he enters Hellfire. Arrogance over people, superiority over them, and looking down on them—every person loves this, and the soul desires it. If a person does it, he has torn the veil between him and Hellfire and will reach Hellfire, may Allah protect us from it. But what is the cure for this desire that the soul, which commands evil, inclines toward? Its cure is what comes after it. He said: or This means it is surrounded by what souls dislike, because falsehood is loved by the soul that commands evil, and the truth is disliked by it. If a person overcomes this disliked thing and forces his soul, which commands evil, to perform the obligatory acts and to abandon the forbidden ones, then he will reach Paradise. For this reason, you find that a person finds the prayers heavy, especially in the days of winter and cold, and especially if he has a lot of sleep after fatigue and effort. You find that prayer is heavy for him and he dislikes getting up to pray, because the bed is soft and pleasant. But if he breaks this barrier, this disliked thing, he will reach Paradise.
The soul that commands evil calls him to fornication. Fornication is a desire that the soul which commands evil loves. But if he restrains it, meaning he restrains the soul that commands evil and forces it to avoid this desire, this is disliked to him, but it is what leads him to Paradise, because Paradise is surrounded by what is disliked.
Jihad in the path of Allah. Jihad in the path of Allah is disliked to the soul. It is disliked to the soul. If a person breaks this veil, it becomes a cause for entering Paradise. Listen to the saying of Allah the Exalted: If a person breaks this disliked thing, he will reach Paradise. Enjoining good and forbidding evil is severe for souls and burdensome for them. Every person is lax in it and dislikes it, saying, “What do I have to do with people? Why should I tire myself with them and tire them with me?” But if he breaks this disliked thing and enjoins good and forbids evil, this becomes a cause for his entering Paradise. And so on. All the things Allah has commanded are disliked to the souls, but force yourself to do them so that you enter Paradise. Avoiding the forbidden things is severe for the souls and disliked by them, especially when the caller to them is strong. If you force yourself to abandon these forbidden things, this is one of the causes of entering Paradise.
Let us suppose a young, unmarried man in a land of disbelief where there is freedom, and a person does what he wishes. Beautiful women, young girls, and young women are all before him, and he is a young, unmarried man. No doubt he will suffer great hardship in abandoning fornication. He will suffer hardship because it is easy for him and its causes are great. But if he forces himself to abandon it, this becomes a cause for entering Paradise. Listen to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): On the Day of Resurrection, the hot, great sun, whose heat we feel now, with hundreds of years between us and it, will draw near on the Day of Resurrection until it is a mile above the heads of the creation. What is a mile? Some scholars said it is the mile of the kohl stick. The mile of the kohl stick is small, less than a finger. And some said it is the mile of distance. Either way, the sun is close to the heads. But there are people whom Allah will shade in His Shade on a Day when there is no shade except His. I ask Allah to make me and you among them. “Allah will shade them” means He will create for them what shades them on a Day when there is no shade except His. There is no building on that Day, no trees, no mountains providing shade, nothing except the Shade of the Lord of the Worlds. I ask Allah to make me and you among those He shades with this Shade. Allah will shade in this Shade whom He wills of His servants, including the seven whom the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned.
A just ruler. A just ruler. What does “just” mean? Does it mean that he judges his relatives and others equally? This is part of the meaning of justice. But the just ruler is the one who applies the Shari'ah of Allah in everything: in ruling over people and in judging between people. This is the just ruler. If we suppose a just ruler who is just in his judgment between people but is not just in ruling them by the law of Allah, he is not just. The just one is the one who is just between people and in ruling people by the judgment of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. This is the one whom a woman called. A woman of status and beauty called him. “Of status” means noble, not lowly, and beauty. And beauty calls the soul. Yes, it calls the soul to approach the woman. So he said: He did not say, “I have no desire.” He has desire. And he did not say, “No one is around me; I fear people will know about this.” No, he is a young man with desire, and the place is empty, no one is there, there are no obstacles. The cause for fornication is present, and the barrier is absent. But there is something. But there is one barrier, and it is the fear of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. He said, “Indeed, I fear Allah.” He is among those whom Allah will shade in His Shade on a Day when there is no shade except His.
The sixth: Because of the intensity of his sincerity.
And the seventh: His eyes overflowed with longing for his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, and his eyes overflowed with fear of his Lord. He is alone, no one is with him. His heart is empty of the world. It does not wander, it does not wander right or left in the heart. The heart is empty except for the remembrance of Allah. The remembrance of Allah in this spiritual seclusion and the physical seclusion. So his eyes overflowed. He is among those whom Allah will shade in His Shade on a Day when there is no shade except His. The important point is that Hellfire is veiled by desires and Paradise is veiled by what is disliked. So strive yourself, even if you dislike it, to do what Allah loves. Strive yourself to do what Allah loves, even if you dislike it. And know, as a person of experience knows, that if you force yourself to obey Allah, you will love obedience and become accustomed to it. Instead of you disliking it, if you wanted to lag behind in obedience, your soul would refuse you. Just accustom yourself. We find some people, for example, who dislike praying in congregation and it is heavy for them at first, when they start. Then they find that this prayer in congregation becomes the coolness of their eyes. If you order them not to pray, they say, “No, I will pray.” So you accustom yourself and force it at first, and it will soften for you later and submit to you. I ask Allah to help me and you in His remembrance, His gratitude, and the excellence of His worship.