The Ruling on Severing Family Ties and the Required Duration of Contact

The questioner:
May Allah reward you. The listener Abu Khalid from Yemen says: I am a resident in Saudi Arabia, and I have maternal uncles and aunts in Yemen, but I do not keep in touch with them except rarely with some of them. Is this considered severing family ties? And what is the duration for which I am required to maintain contact with them?

The Shaykh:
Keeping in touch today, praise be to Allah, is facilitated through the telephone, as if they are present with you. So contact is now facilitated through speech, and speaking kindly with them. So continue to keep in touch with them via the telephone during your absence, and you will be rewarded, if Allah wills, for that.

The questioner:
Is there a specific duration during which contact is obligatory?

The Shaykh:
There is no specific duration; rather, it is permanent. Contact is obligatory always; it has no limited limit, but is permanent.