Explanation of the athar of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father): (Gratitude is denied, kinship ties are severed, and we have not seen anything like the closeness of hearts)

The Shaykh : And thirdly, it is his statement regarding Ibn 'Abbas, who said: "Gratitude is denied, kinship ties are severed, and we have not seen anything like the closeness of hearts." This is a mawquf hadith, meaning it is a statement by Ibn 'Abbas and not a statement by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Ibn 'Abbas speaks in this mawquf athar about a reality among people, except for those whom Allah protects, and they are few. He says: "Gratitude is denied," meaning that instead of thanking the Creator and the One who bestows blessings upon His servants, these servants, except for those whom Allah has shown mercy to, as we mentioned, deny the blessing of Allah upon them and rub it out. So Ibn 'Abbas seems to be saying: This is not permissible for a Muslim to do; he should not be among those who deny the blessing of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Rather, they should give thanks to Him (Blessed and Exalted is He). Similarly, in the second part, he says: "And kinship ties are severed," meaning: Do not be, O Muslim man or O Muslim woman, among those who deny the blessing of Allah upon them or who sever kinship ties, as we discussed in a previous lesson regarding his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): Severs of kinship ties are among the major sins that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) made a cause for the one who maintains ties to be rewarded and the one who severs ties to be punished. And whoever severs kinship ties and does not maintain them, his punishment with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is that entry into Paradise is forbidden to him, either absolutely, and that is if he considers this sin permissible in his heart, or entry with the first to enter, and that is forbidden to him until he enters the Fire and is purified from the burdens and sins of this great sin, which is severing kinship ties. After that, if there remains in his soul any trace of his testimony that Allah is One and that His Prophet is a Messenger, this testimony saves him from eternal abode in the Fire, but only after severe and painful torment. So if blessings are denied and kinship ties are severed, Ibn 'Abbas directs Muslims not to be among those people who deny blessings and sever kinship ties. Then he says: "And we have not seen anything like the closeness of hearts," meaning: We have not seen in affection and love that people become close to one another in their hearts, nor do they hate one another, so that the result is that they disperse and their spirit is destroyed, as is explicit in the Noble Qur'an.