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

The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The chapter on the multiplicity of the paths to good" Good has many paths, and this is from the favor of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) upon His servants, so that their virtues, rewards, and abundant recompense may be varied for them.
The foundations of these paths are three: either physical effort, or financial expenditure, or a combination of both. These are the foundations of the paths to good.
As for physical effort, it is the actions of the body, such as prayer, fasting, jihad, and the like. As for financial expenditure, it is such as zakah, voluntary charity, and spending, and the like.
As for the combination, it is such as jihad in the path of Allah with weapons, for it is done with wealth and with the self. However, the types of these foundations are very numerous, so that the acts of obedience are varied for the servants and they do not become bored. If good were a single path, people would have become bored of it and weary, and the trial would not have occurred. But when it is varied, it is more comfortable for people and more intense in the trial. Allah the Exalted said in this chapter: This indicates that good deeds are not a single good, but rather many paths. Then the author mentioned verses indicating that good has paths, saying: And Allah the Exalted said: And the verses in this are numerous, indicating that good deeds are not of a single type, or a single individual, or a single genus. And what indicates what we said is that you find some people who are accustomed to prayer, and you find them praying a lot. Some are accustomed to reading the Qur'an, and you find them reading the Qur'an a lot. Some are accustomed to dhikr, tasbih, and tahmid, and the like, and you find them doing it a lot. Some are the generous, open-handed one who loves to spend wealth, and you find him always giving charity and always spending. He spends on his family and is generous with them without extravagance. Some desire knowledge and the seeking of knowledge, which in our time may be the best of the actions of the body, because people in the present day, in our era, are in need of Islamic sacred law knowledge due to the prevalence of ignorance and the multitude of those who claim to be scholars but have no knowledge except a mixed-up trade. We are in need of students of knowledge who have solid, stable knowledge built upon the Book and the Sunnah, so that they may counter this chaos that has become widespread in the villages, countries, and cities. Every person has one or two hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and he steps forward to issue fatwas and is careless with them, as if he were Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah or Imam Ahmad or al-Shafi'i or one of the other imams. This portends a great danger if Allah does not rescue the Muslim community with solid scholars who have strong knowledge and strong proof.