Explanation of the author's statement: And Ibn 'Uyaynah did not permit it.

The Shaykh : He said: "And Ibn 'Uyaynah did not permit it" Who is Ibn 'Uyaynah? Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, the famous Imam. It is well known that he did not permit learning it. This agrees with the statement of Qatadah regarding its being disliked. But yes, Harb mentioned it from them. Harb is the companion of Imam Ahmad, and he narrated many questions from him, which were recently printed. "And Ahmad and Ishaq permitted learning the mansazil" Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ishaq ibn Rahawayh. It is said Rahawayh and Rahuyah. All these compound words are said in this manner: Rahuyah and Rahuyah, Sibawayh and Sibuyah, and Nafawayh and Nafuyah. They mentioned that there are two dialects for them. Good. They permitted learning it, and the correct view is that there is no harm in it. There is no harm in learning the mansazil of the moon because there is no shirk (associating partners with Allah) in it. Yes, if one learns it to attribute to it the descent of rain and the occurrence of cold, and that it is the cause of that, then this is a type of shirk. But merely knowing the time by it, and that we are now in the time of autumn, or the time of winter, or the time of summer, there is no harm in that. Yes.

The questioner : O Shaykh... Qatadah disliked it and did not permit it. How do we distinguish between dislike and not permitting? Because dislike may not extend to others, whereas permission extends to others.

The Shaykh : No, absolutely. There is a difference between them. There is a difference between them. Because if Qatadah were from the later scholars, we would say that the dislike is for discouragement (tanzihi) and that it is permitted, but the best is not to do it.

The questioner : If they said, "I dislike such and such" from this chapter?

The Shaykh : From this chapter of the early scholars. Therefore, when Imam Ahmad said, "I dislike such and such," his companions said that he means prohibition. Yes, that is right.
Then he said: "And from Abu Musa" meaning al-Ash'ari, Abdullah ibn Qays. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Paradise is the home that Allah the Exalted prepared for the righteous, and it was named so because of the abundance of its trees, for it shades those within it. Who are they? Meaning the habitual drinker, i.e., the one who drinks intoxicants frequently. And what is khamr (intoxicants)? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) defined khamr by saying: This is khamr: everything that intoxicates is khamr. And the meaning of intoxicates is that it covers the mind for the sake of pleasure and joy. Not everything that covers the mind is khamr. For example, is anesthetic khamr or not? It is not khamr. If a person drinks oil and faints, that is not khamr. Rather, khamr is that which covers the mind in a state of pleasure and joy. You find him tipsy, feeling that he is in a high, noble station, with grandeur, majesty, kingship, and dominance, and the like. The poet said:
"And we drink it - i.e., khamr - and it leaves us as kings" Meaning that one imagines he is a king. And look at the statement of Hamzah to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). What did he say? He imagines he is a master and great. This is it, and may Allah protect us, the khamr that covers the mind for the sake of pleasure. Good. And the meaning of the habitual drinker, we said, is the one who drinks it frequently.
What is the ruling on khamr? It is forbidden by the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims. And whoever considers it lawful is a disbeliever, except if he is from a remote desert area or recently converted to Islam and does not know the Islamic ruling regarding it. Then he is to be informed and not declared a disbeliever merely for denying its prohibition.
The second: The rahim (kinship) is the blood relation.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : ... one who severs the rahim. In my view, the one who severs the rahim is the one who severs the kinship. Allah the Exalted said: And the rahim is not as the common people understand it. The common people, when they say "my rahim," mean the relative of my wife. And this is not correct. For example, they call the father of the wife "uncle" (amm), and some call him "maternal uncle" (khal). This is not correct and is wrong. And it is not befitting to call him "uncle" or "maternal uncle" because this is a non-Shari'ah naming, and a Shari'ah ruling is based on it. Someone comes to your mother and says, "He is my uncle" or "He is my maternal uncle," and the like, so you think he is the brother of his father or mother. Therefore, it is befitting for a person, when asked "Is he your uncle or your maternal uncle?", to say, "What is my uncle?" out of fear of this customary language. What does severing the rahim mean? Severing the rahim means not maintaining the tie. And the tie (silah) came in an absolute form in the Book and the Sunnah, not restricted. And from it are the relatives. So if it is not restricted, what does it follow? It follows custom.
"And whatever comes and is not specified *** by the Shari'ah, like the safe-keeping, is specified by custom"
This is the well-known rule among the people of knowledge, and many issues are based on it. The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned it in his treatise "That whatever is made absolute in the Shari'ah, its reference is to custom" So here, maintaining the tie of kinship (silat al-rahim) is not restricted. It was not said that you should not have lunch except with them, or not have dinner except with them, or not be full while they are hungry, or not be clothed while they are naked, and the like. It was not said in this way. So we refer to what? To custom. If people are in a time of hunger, then maintaining the tie is that you always give to them and look after them with food and clothing, and the like. And if we are in a time of wealth, abundance, and comfort, it is not obligatory for us to do what we do in a state of hunger and poverty. Also, relatives are divided into distant and close. The closest of them is not like the most distant. The closest needs more maintenance of the tie. Then relatives are divided into two categories from another aspect. One category of relatives sees that they have a right and explains to you that they want you to always maintain the tie with them. And another category of relatives appreciates the circumstances and places things in their proper position and excuses some of the excuses. So this one has a ruling and that one has a ruling. And the important thing is that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not restrict the tie with a specific thing. And on this basis, it is referred to custom. Severance is also referred to custom, except that an issue is excluded from that, which is if the custom is the absolute absence of the tie, such as if we are in a community that has scattered and its ties of kinship have been severed and its families have disintegrated, as is known now in Western countries and others. Then we do not follow the custom here. Why? Because there is no tie at all in the custom. So we do not say that because the custom does not know the tie, the ruling of the tie is severed. Rather, we say that the tie is necessary. If there is a known tie in the custom, we follow it. And if there is no tie at all, it is not possible to nullify this Shari'ah that Allah and His Messenger commanded. So it is necessary to maintain the tie. And know also that maintaining the tie of kinship does not mean that you maintain the tie with the one who maintains the tie with you. Why? Because maintaining the tie with the one who maintains the tie with you is not maintaining the tie. What is it? This is a reward. A person maintains the tie with the most distant of people if they maintain the tie with him. Rather, the one who maintains the tie, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is the one who truly maintains the tie. This is the one who seeks the Face of Allah and the Hereafter. As for a man, when his relative gives him a garment, a headscarf, trousers, and a cloak, he goes and gives him the like of it, we say this is a rewarder. So you maintain the tie with your relatives even if they sever it, so that your tie is for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and not for the reward. Yes.

The questioner : Shaykh, is maintaining the tie of kinship a right for Allah or a right for the human being...?

The Shaykh : It appears that it is a right for the human being.

The questioner : One may be excused...

The Shaykh : Yes, it is a right. Yes, yes, it is a right for Allah. Allah commanded it for the right of the human being. So if he excuses him and drops his right, then there is no right. But it is befitting for him to maintain the tie with that, because he may excuse him out of shyness and the like. He maintains the tie, even if it is a little.