Who are the relatives whose ties I am obligated to maintain and whose severance is forbidden for me?
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The questioner : Who are the relatives whose ties I am obligated to maintain and whose severance is forbidden for me?
The Shaykh : The relatives whose ties are obligatory to maintain are the kin on the father's side or the mother's side, namely those with whom a person is connected through the fourth grandfather. The closer the relative, the more obligatory it is to maintain the tie. Thus, maintaining the tie with a brother is more obligatory than maintaining the tie with an uncle, unless there is a reason that necessitates giving the uncle more attention than the brother, such as if the uncle is poorer, or if he is ill and needs to be visited for care, or something similar.
It is necessary for one who maintains family ties to pay attention to an important matter, which is to intend by maintaining the tie to draw near to Allah the Exalted and to seek the reward He has established for those who maintain ties. Indeed, Allah the Exalted has guaranteed that He will maintain the ties of those who maintain them, and He has warned against severing them by stating that whoever severs his ties, Allah will sever his.
If someone were to say: "What if the relatives are those who have severed ties with me?" The answer is that you should maintain ties with them even if they have severed ties with you, because the true one who maintains ties is the one who maintains his ties when they are severed. As came in the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke the truth. Accordingly, maintain your family ties even if they have severed them, even if you find from them a dislike of your coming. Do not be concerned with this; visit them and do not burden them, so that you will be among those who maintain ties and they will be among those who sever them. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you. This questioner says, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : The relatives whose ties are obligatory to maintain are the kin on the father's side or the mother's side, namely those with whom a person is connected through the fourth grandfather. The closer the relative, the more obligatory it is to maintain the tie. Thus, maintaining the tie with a brother is more obligatory than maintaining the tie with an uncle, unless there is a reason that necessitates giving the uncle more attention than the brother, such as if the uncle is poorer, or if he is ill and needs to be visited for care, or something similar.
It is necessary for one who maintains family ties to pay attention to an important matter, which is to intend by maintaining the tie to draw near to Allah the Exalted and to seek the reward He has established for those who maintain ties. Indeed, Allah the Exalted has guaranteed that He will maintain the ties of those who maintain them, and He has warned against severing them by stating that whoever severs his ties, Allah will sever his.
If someone were to say: "What if the relatives are those who have severed ties with me?" The answer is that you should maintain ties with them even if they have severed ties with you, because the true one who maintains ties is the one who maintains his ties when they are severed. As came in the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
The one who maintains ties is not the one who reciprocates, but rather the one who maintains his ties when they are severed.
ليس الواصل بالمكافئ، وإنما الواصل من إذا قطِعت أو إذا قطَعت رحمه وصلهاThe questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you. This questioner says, O honorable Shaykh.