—and may Allah perpetuate His favour upon them and protect both us and them from Satan the accursed.

***

190 – The Seventh [hadith]

Abu Saʿid al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Beware of sitting in the roadways.” They replied, “O Messenger of Allah, we cannot dispense with our gatherings there; we sit and talk.” He ﷺ said, “If you must sit, then give the road its right.” They asked, “And what is the right of the road, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Lowering the gaze, refraining from harm, returning the greeting of peace, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong.” Agreed upon.

Explanation

The author—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—relates from Abu Saʿid al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Beware of sitting in the roadways.” This wording is a form of warning, meaning: I caution you against sitting on the pathways. Sitting there leads to exposing people’s private matters as they come and go, to peering at whatever belongings they carry—items they prefer others not to see—and it also invites speech and backbiting about those who pass by; whenever someone walks past, they begin to talk about his honour.