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 quoted from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This contains a type of injustice, which is the injustice of lands, and the injustice of lands is among the greatest of major sins. He cursed the one who alters the landmarks of the earth. The scholars said: “The landmarks of the earth are its boundaries” because it is derived from *manwar*, which is a marker. So if a person alters the landmarks of the earth by taking some of his neighbor’s land into his own, he is cursed by the tongue of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And cursing is being driven away and kept distant from the mercy of Allah. There is another punishment, which is what he mentioned in this hadith: that if he encroaches on a span of land, it will be wrapped around him on the Day of Resurrection from the seven earths. This is because the earths are seven, as the Sunnah explicitly states, and as Allah the Exalted mentioned in the Qur'an by indication. Allah the Exalted said: It is known that the similarity here is not in the manner, because the difference between the sky and the earth is like the distance between them. The earth is much larger, and the sky is much more numerous than the earth, wider and greater. Allah the Exalted said: meaning with power. And He said: meaning powerful. So if a person encroaches on a span of land, this will be wrapped around him on the Day of Resurrection from the seven earths, meaning it will be made into a collar around his neck, may Allah protect us. He will carry it before the people, before the world, and he will be disgraced by it on the Day of Resurrection and wearied by it. And His saying: this is not in the sense of a strict limit, but it is in the sense of exaggeration, meaning that if he encroaches on less than that, it will also be wrapped around him. But the Arabs mention such things for exaggeration, meaning if it is a small amount, a span of land, it will be wrapped around him on the Day of Resurrection. And in this hadith is evidence that whoever owns the land owns its depths down to the seventh earth. If a person owns a piece of land, it is his ownership down to the seventh earth. So no one has the right to dig a tunnel under your land except with your permission. For example, if you have a piece of land that is three meters between your two neighbors’ lands, and your neighbor wants to open a tunnel between his lands and under your land, he has no right to do so, because you own the land and what is under it down to the seventh earth. Just as the air is yours up to the sky, so no one can build a roof over your land except with your permission. For this reason, the scholars said: The air is attached to the ground, and the ground is fixed down to the seventh earth. So a person has his ownership from above and below, and no one dares to encroach on it. The people of knowledge said: Even if your neighbor has a tree and its branches extend to your land, and the branch is on your land, the neighbor must bend it away from your land. If bending it is not possible, he must cut it, except with your permission, because the air is yours, and the air is attached to the ground. As for the hadith of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He is lenient with him, meaning He delays him until he goes too far in his injustice, may Allah protect us. So He does not hasten to punish him, and this is from the trials. We ask Allah to protect us and you from trials. That He is lenient with a person and he wrongs, so he is not punished quickly until the injustices pile up on him. Then when Allah seizes him, He does not let him go. He seizes him as a powerful and capable one seizes. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited: So the wrongdoer must think about himself and not be deceived by Allah’s leniency with him, for that is a calamity upon the calamity of injustice. Because if a person is punished for his injustice immediately, he may perhaps remember and take a lesson and leave the injustice. But if he is delayed and he acquires sins and acquires injustice, his punishment increases, may Allah protect us. So he is taken by surprise, until when Allah seizes him, He does not let him go. We ask Allah the Exalted to grant us and you the ability to take a lesson from His signs, and to protect us and you from wronging ourselves and wronging others. Indeed, He is Generous and Bountiful.