The obligation of maintaining family ties and whether one sins by forbidding his children from visiting their aunt

The questioner : Shaykh Muhammad, this is a woman asking: Please tell us about maintaining family ties. There is a dispute between the father and his sister, and he has forbidden the children from visiting this aunt. May Allah reward you with good?

The Shaykh : Yes. Before answering this question, I would like to advise this man to fear Allah the Exalted and to maintain his family ties, for there is much good in maintaining family ties. Allah the Exalted said to the family tie: "Are you not pleased that I will maintain the one who maintains you and cut off the one who cuts you off?" And Allah the Exalted said in the Noble Qur'an: May Allah grant us well-being. So this man should fear his Lord, maintain his family ties, and repair the affection between him and them, so that he does not die while cutting them off. For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: For what is he cutting off his family tie? For a little bit of worldly life? For something of this world? All of this will go away, even if it is possible that they made a mistake against him. So everyone should repair what has gone wrong, make peace among themselves, and return to being connected as Allah the Exalted commanded them to be. As for his preventing his sons from visiting their aunt, this is a mistake upon a mistake, may Allah protect us from it, and he has no right to do the forbidden, or to order it, or to compel it. May Allah grant us well-being. He combines the injustice to himself with the injustice to others, and there is no obedience to him in this. That is to say, it is permissible for his sons and daughters to maintain this aunt, even if he is angry, even if he is furious, even if he boycotts them, even if he cuts them off, for he will bear the sin. So I say to his sons and daughters: Maintain your family ties, maintain your aunt, go to her, visit her, and visit her if she is ill. Do not worry about your father in this situation, because he is an unjust transgressor. May Allah grant us well-being. But if you see that it is better to go to her in secret, meaning without your father knowing, then that is better. The intended result is achieved and the father's anger is not caused. But if it is not possible except by informing him, there is no blame on you. Maintain your family ties, and there is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator. May Allah reward you with good. We have a call on the line now.