Maintaining family ties is obligatory to the extent of one's ability
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Q: I am a young man, twenty-six years old. I have married sisters, and my mother is married to a man other than my father, as my father has passed away. I work in the military and wish to visit them, but my circumstances do not allow it. Please note that I am married; if I go and leave my family, I would have to stay for at least three days. During these days, I would be occupied away from my wife and children. Would I be considered one who severs family ties, given that I have not visited them for about ten months?
A: Maintaining family ties is obligatory to the extent of one's ability, starting with the closest relatives. There is much good and many benefits in it, while severing ties is forbidden and among the major sins. This is based on His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) :[Muhammad 47:22] Those are the ones whom Allah has cursed, so He made them deaf and blinded their sight. [Surah Muhammad: 22-23] and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan Abi Dawud 1696Sahih (Al-Albani) narrated by Muslim in his Sahih. And his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) when a man asked him, saying: O Messenger of Allah, whom should I be the most dutiful to? He said: He said: Then whom? He said: He said: Then whom? He said: He said: Then whom? He said in the fourth instance: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1897Hasan (Darussalam) also narrated by Muslim. And in the authentic collections from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sahih Muslim 2557b.
There are many hadiths to this effect, and it is obligatory for you to maintain family ties to the best of your ability, through visiting if that is possible, and through writing and the telephone. It is also prescribed for you to maintain family ties with money if the relative is poor. Allah the Exalted said: : [al-Taghābun: 16] And He the Exalted said: [al-Baqarah: 286] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 7288 agreed upon as authentic.
May Allah guide everyone to what pleases Him.
A: Maintaining family ties is obligatory to the extent of one's ability, starting with the closest relatives. There is much good and many benefits in it, while severing ties is forbidden and among the major sins. This is based on His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) :
So would you perhaps, if you turned away, cause corruption on earth and sever your [ties of] relationship?
فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَنْ تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوا أَرْحَامَكُمْ Anyone who cuts off relationship from his nearest relatives will not enter Paradise.
لا يدخل الجنة قاطع رحمYour mother
أمكYour mother
أمكYour mother
أمكyour father, then the nearest relatives, then the nearest relatives
أباك ثم الأقرب فالأقربHe who likes that his sustenance should be expanded and his age may be lengthened should join the tie of kinship.
من أحب أن يبسط له في رزقه وينسأ له في أثره؛ فليصل رحمهThere are many hadiths to this effect, and it is obligatory for you to maintain family ties to the best of your ability, through visiting if that is possible, and through writing and the telephone. It is also prescribed for you to maintain family ties with money if the relative is poor. Allah the Exalted said: :
So fear Allah as much as you are able
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْAllah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلا وُسْعَهَاAnd if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can.
إذا أمرتكم بأمر فأتوا منه ما استطعتمMay Allah guide everyone to what pleases Him.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.