Are the maternal grandfather, maternal uncle, and their sons among the relatives whose ties must be maintained? And what is the period considered in maintaining family ties?

The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh: Are my maternal grandfather, my maternal uncle, and their sons considered relatives whose ties I must maintain? And what is the period considered such that if a person exceeds it, he is considered to have severed his family ties?

The Shaykh : You know that maintaining family ties in the Qur'an and the Sunnah is absolute, is it not? Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: and He says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned maintaining family ties in multiple hadiths without restricting it to a specific thing. Therefore, it returns to custom, and custom varies among people according to their closeness to the person, according to their need for the visit, and according to the circumstances of people. For example, people in a time of poverty may need the relative to be maintained with financial support, food, drink, clothing, and the like more than if people were in a time of wealth. Likewise, a sick relative needs more care than a relative who is not sick. So, what has become customary as maintaining ties is maintaining ties, and what has become customary as severing ties is severing ties. People today do not consider it obligatory to go to your relative every day, except for the very close relative like the mother and father, and they do not consider it severing ties if you maintain it, for example, once a month or on occasions. So, the important thing is that this matter returns to custom and usage.