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

The reciter: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted: "From al-Nu'man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:

What is lawful is evident and what is unlawful is evident, and in between them are the things doubtful which many people do not know. So he who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and honour blameless, and he who indulges in doubtful things indulges in fact in unlawful things, just as a shepherd who pastures his animals round a preserve will soon pasture them in it. Beware, every king has a preserve, and the things God his declaced unlawful are His preserves. Beware, in the body there is a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound and if it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt, and hearken it is the heart.

إنَّ الحلال بيّن وإن الحرام بيّن، وبينهما مشتبهات لا يعلمهنّ كثير من الناس، فمن اتقى الشبهات استبرأ لدينه وعِرضه، ومن وقع الشبهات وقع في الحرام، كالراعي يرعى حول الحمى يوشك أن يرتع فيه، ألا وإن لكل ملك حمى، ألا وإنّ حمى الله محارمه، ألا وإن في الجسد مُضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله، وإذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله: ألا وهي القلب

Sahih Muslim 1599a

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim".

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 al-Nu'man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) and his father Bashir ibn Sa'd in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) divided matters into three categories:
A clear lawful, a clear forbidden, and a doubtful. The clear lawful is like the lawfulness of livestock, and the clear forbidden is like the prohibition of carrion, blood, and the flesh of pigs, and what is similar to that. And everything in the Qur'an that uses the word "made lawful" is lawful, and everything that uses the word "forbidden" is forbidden. This is a clear lawful. He forbade riba (usury or interest): this is a clear forbidden.
There are doubtful matters that are hidden from people, and the reasons for their being hidden are many: among them:
That the text is not established for the person, meaning he hesitates whether it is authentic from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or not. Then, if it is authentic, its indication becomes doubtful: does it indicate such-and-such or not? Then, if it indicates a specific thing, it becomes doubtful whether it has a specifier if it is general, or whether it has a restrictor if it is absolute. Then, if it becomes clear, it becomes doubtful whether it remains or has been abrogated. The important point is that the reasons for doubt are many. So what is the way to resolve this doubt?
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified it and said: He safeguarded his religion: because he is safe from falling into the forbidden. And his honor: because he is safe from people speaking about him, because if he takes the doubtful matters, he becomes exposed to people speaking about him, just as if he were to take the clear matters whose prohibition is evident.
Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave an example of that with a shepherd, a shepherd of sheep or camels or cattle, It is known that when an area is protected, it flourishes and its grass or crops increase, because people do not violate it by grazing. So the shepherd who grazes around the protected area is likely to fall into it, because when the animals see the greenery in this protected area, and see the grass, they rush toward it. It requires great observation and monitoring. And even so, if the person does not monitor them, he may be negligent, and these animals may overcome him and graze in this protected area. : This is possible that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said that as an approval for him, and that the king has the right to protect a specific place where grass is abundant for the animals of the Muslims, the animals that are in the public treasury, like the camels of charity and the horses of jihad, and what is similar to that. As for the one who protects for himself, that is forbidden for him. It is not permissible for anyone to protect something of the lands of Allah to have it exclusively without the servants of Allah, for that is forbidden for him, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: And the third? , so the grass is not permissible for anyone to protect by putting up a fence, or by placing soldiers there to prevent people from grazing in it. So it is usurpation of this place, even if it is not a specific usurpation, because it is not the property of anyone, but it is the prevention of something in which people share, so this is not permissible. For this reason, the scholars said: "It is permissible for the Imam to protect a grazing area for the animals of the Muslims, on the condition that it does not harm them". So the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): : is possible that it is an approval. If so, the meaning is what the king protects for the animals of the Muslims, like the horses of jihad and the camels of charity, and what is similar to that. And it is possible that it is a report of the reality, even if it is not an approval for it, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) may report something that has happened or will happen without approving it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reported that we will commit the ways of the Jews and the Christians, and he said: : Is this an approval? No, but it is a warning.
In any case, the king has a protected area that he protects, whether rightfully or not. So when people come to graze around the protected area, around the grassy, green land, they cannot control the animals from grazing in it. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has surrounded the Shari'ah with a firm fence. He has protected everything that is forbidden that harms people in their religion or their worldly life. He has protected it. And if the thing is one that the souls are inclined to, He has strengthened the fence around it. If the thing is one that the souls are inclined to, He strengthens the fence around it. Look, for example, at zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), refuge with Allah. The cause of zina is the strength of desire and the weakness of faith, but the souls are inclined to it because it is an innate nature. So He placed a fence around it to keep people away from it, and He said: He did not say: "Do not commit zina." He said: : This includes every means that leads to zina, from looking, touching, talking, and other things.
Similarly, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) forbade riba (usury or interest), and because the souls seek it for the benefit in it, He forbade every means to riba, so He forbade the stratagems for riba and prevented them. And thus Allah (Mighty and Majestic) made the prohibitions protected areas, preventing people from falling into them. Then he said: : The morsel means a piece of meat, the size of what a person chews, the size of what he chews, small but its matter is great. It is the one that manages the body. If it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt: it is not the eye, nor the nose, nor the tongue, nor the hand, nor the leg, nor the liver, nor any other of the organs. It is only the heart. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: : So the person's soundness and corruption revolve around the heart. For this reason, it is obligatory for you, O Muslim, to take care of the soundness of your heart. The soundness of the outward appearances and the deeds of the limbs is good, but the whole matter is in the soundness of the heart. Allah says about the hypocrites: : When you see them, their bodies please you because of their good form and the good deeds of their limbs, and when they speak, you hear their speech for its beauty and ornamentation, but their hearts are ruined, refuge with Allah. : There is no good in them. So you take care of the soundness of the heart. Look at your heart: is there anything of shirk (associating partners with Allah) in it? Is there anything of hatred for what Allah has revealed in it? Is there anything of hatred for the righteous servants of Allah in it? Is there anything of inclination toward the disbelievers in it? Is there anything of loyalty to the disbelievers in it? Is there anything of envy in it? Is there anything of malice in it? Is there anything of grudge and what is similar to that of the great, numerous diseases in the hearts? Purify your heart from this, and repair your heart, for the matter revolves around it: : This is the Day of Resurrection, the deed is on the inner, in this world the deed is on the outer, we have only the outward appearances of people, but in the Hereafter the deed is on the inner. May Allah repair our hearts and your hearts.
: Meaning it is tested , so repair your heart, O my brother, repair your heart. Do not hate the Shari'ah of Allah, do not hate the righteous servants of Allah, do not hate anything of what Allah has revealed. For your hatred of anything of what Allah has revealed is disbelief in Allah. We ask Allah for guidance, success, and soundness for us and for you.