Is it permissible to sever family ties if there is harm, and is it permissible to limit maintaining family ties to the telephone?
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The questioner : The honorable Shaykh is asked: Is it permissible to sever family ties if there is harm in maintaining the ties with this relative? And is it permissible to limit maintaining family ties to the telephone?
The Shaykh : First, the questioner must clarify to me what the harm is in maintaining family ties, so that the answer can be given accordingly.
As for maintaining family ties by telephone, this depends on custom. For some relatives, the telephone may not be sufficient, either because of the closeness of their relationship or because, when they are ill, they need to be visited, and so on. In other cases, the telephone may be sufficient, based on the fact that this is the custom of people. People nowadays do not demand that each one visit the other at home. The important point is that maintaining family ties is mentioned absolutely in the Book and the Sunnah. So whatever people consider to be maintaining ties is maintaining ties, and whatever they do not consider to be maintaining ties is severing ties.
The Shaykh : First, the questioner must clarify to me what the harm is in maintaining family ties, so that the answer can be given accordingly.
As for maintaining family ties by telephone, this depends on custom. For some relatives, the telephone may not be sufficient, either because of the closeness of their relationship or because, when they are ill, they need to be visited, and so on. In other cases, the telephone may be sufficient, based on the fact that this is the custom of people. People nowadays do not demand that each one visit the other at home. The important point is that maintaining family ties is mentioned absolutely in the Book and the Sunnah. So whatever people consider to be maintaining ties is maintaining ties, and whatever they do not consider to be maintaining ties is severing ties.