Diversity of Means for Maintaining Family Ties

Question:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “No one who severs family ties will enter Paradise.” A person has many relatives and kin. Is it obligatory for him to visit them, even if they are numerous, located in distant places, and are relatives who do not know him, have not seen him, and he has not seen them? Is it obligatory for him to visit them?

Answer:
Maintaining ties can be done without visiting; it is not obligatory. Visiting can be done through writing, by telephone, by telegram, or by instructing his brothers to go to them to ask about their condition, and by sending them gifts if they are poor, or as a gift in the context of maintaining ties.
Not everyone is able to visit by traveling. Rather, one should do what he is able to, such as a kind message, a kind phone call, or instructing someone to go to the town and ask about them: “How are you? How are your children? So-and-so sends his greetings to you.” You send them a letter, or something like that.