If you insist on sitting there, then give the road its due rights. They said: What are its rights? He said: Lowering the gaze, refraining from doing harm (to others), returning the greeting, enjoining what is good, and forbidding what is evil
Authentic hadithعن أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه مرفوعًا: "إياكم والجلوسَ على الطُّرُقَاتِ". قالوا: يا رسول الله، ما لنا بُدٌّ من مجالسنا، نتحدث فيها. قال: "فأما إذا أَبَيْتُمْ فأعطوا الطريق حَقَّهُ". قالوا: وما حَقُّهُ؟ قال: "غَضُّ البصر، وكَفُّ الأذى، ورد السلام، والأمر بالمعروف، والنهي عن المنكر".
Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Beware! Avoid sitting on the roads." They said: "O Messenger of Allah, we cannot help sitting there, as these are our places where we talk to one another." He said: "If you insist on sitting there, then give the road its due rights." They said: "What are its rights?" He said: "Lowering the gaze, refraining from doing harm (to others), returning the greeting, enjoining what is good, and forbidding what is evil."
Explanation
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) warned his companions of sitting on the roads. They told him that this was indispensable. He said: if you refuse to comply and you must sit there, then you must give the road its due rights. When they asked him about the rights of the road, he instructed them that they should lower their gaze from looking at the women passing by them, refrain from hurting the passersby verbally or by actions, return the greeting to whomever greets them, enjoin what is good, and forbid the evil when they see it.
Source · Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).