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 what he quoted from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This phrasing is a warning, meaning I warn you against sitting in the roads. This is because sitting in the roads leads to exposing the private parts of people who are going or coming, and to looking at the items they are carrying, which may be private matters they do not want anyone to see. It may also lead to talking and backbiting about those who pass by; if someone passes by them, they would speak ill of him. The important point is that sitting in the roads leads to harms. However, when they said: and he warned them meaning we sit because we have no choice but to have gathering places to talk, for some of us to feel at ease with others, for some of us to become familiar with others, and for good to come from this. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw that they were determined to sit, he said: He did not make it difficult for them (peace and blessings be upon him), nor did he prevent them from these gatherings where some of them talk to each other, become familiar with each other, and feel at ease with each other. He did not make things hard for them in this matter, and it was among his (peace and blessings be upon him) characteristics that he was compassionate and merciful to the believers. So he said: meaning except sitting five things: lowering the gaze, that you lower your gaze from what passes by, whether it is a man or a woman, because it is obligatory to lower the gaze from a woman, or for a person to lower his gaze from her. And likewise for a man, lowering the gaze from him, not staring at him until you see what he is carrying. In the beginning, people would bring the household items daily, carrying them in their hands, and when they passed by these people, they would see them and say: “What is he carrying?” and the like. And until not long ago, when a man passed by with meat for his family, they would talk about how so-and-so brought meat for his family today, so-and-so brought this for them, so-and-so brought that for them. Therefore, he commanded them to lower their gaze, to lower their gaze refraining from harm, both verbal and physical. As for verbal harm, it is that they talk about a person when he passes by, or talk about him afterwards through backbiting. And physical harm is that they make it difficult for them in the road, such that they fill the road until they harm the passersby, and passage is not possible except with fatigue and hardship. The third is: if someone greets, return the greeting to him. This is part of the right of the road, because the Sunnah is that the passerby greets whom? The one who is sitting. So if the Sunnah is that the passerby greets the one who is sitting, then if he greets, return the greeting. The fourth is: if you see someone who is shortcoming, whether from the passersby or others, enjoin upon him what is right. And the fifth is: if you see someone passing by while doing what is wrong, such as passing by while smoking or the like of wrongdoings, forbid him from it. This is the right of the road. In this hadith, a person is warned against sitting in the roads. If it is necessary, then it is obligatory for him to give the road its right. And the right of the road is five things, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained, and they are? Five things. These are the rights of the road for whoever is sitting in it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained.