Ties of Kinship

Kulayb ibn Manfa'a reported that his grandfather asked, "Messenger ofAllah, towards whom should I be dutiful?" He replied, "Your mother, yourfather, your sister and your brother. Then your mawla (client) has the nextright against you and then your relatives who are connected."

Abu Hurayra said, "When the following ayat was revealed ('Warnyour near relatives' (26:
214)), the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, stood up and called out, saying, 'Banu Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy!Save yourselves from the Fire! Banu 'Abdu Manaf! Save yourselves from theFire! Banu Hashim! Save yourselves from the Fire! Banu 'Abdu'l-Muttalib!Save yourselves from the Fire! Fatima, daughter of Muhammad! Save yourselvesfrom the Fire! I do not have anything for you in respect to Allah exceptfor the fact that you have ties of kinship.'"

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari told him that a bedouin came to the Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, while he was travelling. He asked, "Tellme what will bring me near to the Garden and keep me far from the Fire."He replied, "Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, performthe prayer, pay zakat, and maintain ties of kinship."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, "Allah Almighty created creation. When He hadfinished it, ties of kinship rose up. Allah said, 'Stop!' They said, 'Thisis the place for anyone seeking refuge with You from being cut off' Allahsaid, 'Are you not content that I should maintain connections with the onewho maintains connection with you and I should cut off the one who cuts youoff?' It replied, 'Yes indeed, my Lord.' He said, 'You have that.'"

Ibn 'Abbas spoke about the ayat, "Give your relatives theirdue, and the very poor and travellers" (17:
26), and said, "Hebegins by commanding the most pressing of the obligatory dues and He directsus to the best action if we have any money. He says: 'Give your relativestheir due, and the very poor and travellers.' He also teaches us what wecan say if we have nothing. He says, 'But if you do turn away from them,seeking the mercy you hope for from your Lord, then speak to them with wordsthat bring them ease' (17:28) in the form of an excellent promise. Thingsare as they are, but they might change if Allah wills. 'Do not keep yourhand chained to your neck' and not give anything, 'but do not extendit either to its full extent' and give all you have, 'so that yousit there blamed' as those who come to you later and find you have nothingwill blame you, 'and destitute.' (17:29)" He said, "The person towhom you have given everything has made you destitute."

Abu Hurayra said, "A man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah! I have relatives with whomI maintain ties while they cut me off. I am good to them while they are badto me. They behave foolishly towards me while I am forbearing towards them.'The Prophet said, 'If things are as you said, it is as if you were puttinghot ashes on them and you will not lack a supporter against them from Allahas long as you continue to do that.'"

'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn 'Awf heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, say, "Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, said, 'Iam the Merciful (ar-Rahman). I have created ties of kinship and derivesa name for it from My Name. If anyone maintains ties of kinship, I maintainconnection with him, and I shall cut off anyone who cuts them off.'"

Abu'l-'Anbas said, "I visited 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr at al-Waht (some landof his in Ta'if). He said, 'The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, pointed his finger towards us and said, "Kinship (rahim) usderived from the All-Merciful (Rahman). When someone maintains theconnections of ties of kinship, they maintain connection with him. If someonecuts them off, they cut him off. They will have an unfettered, eloquent tongueon the Day of Rising."'"

'A'isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, "Kinship (rahim) is derived from Allah. If anyone maintainsties of kinship Allah maintains ties with him. If anyone cuts them off, Allahcuts him off."

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "Anyone who wants to have his provision expandedand his term of life prolonged should maintain ties of kinship."

Abu Hurayra heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, say, "Anyone who wants to have his provision expanded andhis term of life lengthened should maintain ties of kinship."

Ibn 'Umar said, "If someone fears his Lord and maintains ties of kinship,his term of life will be prolonged, he will have abundant wealth and hispeople will love him."

Ibn 'Umar said, "Whoever has taqwa of his Lord and maintains ties of kinship, histerm of life will be prolonged, his wealth will be abundant, and his familywill love him."

It is reported that al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib heard the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Allah enjoins you to be dutifulto your mothers. Then He enjoins you to be dutiful to your mothers. ThenHe enjoins you to be dutiful to your fathers. Then He enjoins you to be dutifulto your next closest relative and then to your next closest relative."

Abu Ayyub Sulayman, the mawla of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, said, "Abu Hurayracame to us on a Thursday evening, the night before Jumu'a. He said, 'Everyindividual who severs ties of kinship is constricted when he leaves us. Noone left until he had said that three times. Then a young man went to oneof his paternal aunts with whom he had severed ties two years previously.He went to her and she asked him, 'Nephew! What has brought you?' He replied,'I heard Abu Hurayra say such-and-such.' She said, 'Go back to him and askhim why he said that.' Abu Hurayra said, 'I heard the Prophet, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, say, "The actions of the children of Adamare presented before Allah Almighty on Thursday evening, the night beforeJumu'a. He does not accept the actions of someone who has severed ties ofkinship."'"

Ibn 'Umar said, "Nothing that a man spends on himself and his family,anticipating a reward from Allah, will fail to be rewarded by Allah Almighty.He should begin with those whose support is his responsibility. If thereis something left over, he should spend it on his next nearest relative andthen the next nearest. If there is still something left over, he can giveit away."

'Abdullah ibn 'Awfa reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "Mercy does not descend on a people when there issomeone among them who severs ties of kinship."

Jubayr ibn Mu'tim reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, say, "The one who severs ties of kinshipwill not enter the Garden."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, "Ties of kinship (rahim) is derived fromthe All-Merciful (ar-Rahman). They say. 'My Lord! I have been wronged!My Lord! I have been cut off! My Lord! I have! I have!' Allah answersthem, 'Are you not content that I cut off the one who cuts you off and Imaintain connections with the one who maintains connections with you?'"

Sa'id ibn Sam'an heard Abu Hurayra seeking refuge from the power of childrenand fools. Sa'id said, "Ibn Hasana al-Juhani told me that he asked Abu Hurayra,'What is the token of that?' He replied, 'That he severs ties of kinship,obeys someone who is in error, and disobeys the correct guide.'"

Abu Bakra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "There is no wrong action which Allah is swifter topunish in this world - in addition to the punishment which He has storedup for the wrongdoer in the Next World - than cutting off ties of kinshipand injustice."

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "The one who maintains ties of kinship is not theone who reciprocates. The one who maintains ties of kinship is the one who,when his relatives cut him off, maintains ties of kinship."

Al-Bara' said, "A bedouin came and said, 'Prophet of Allah! Teach mean action which will enable me to enter the Garden.' He said, "The questionis a broad one, even though you have asked it in only a few words. Free someone.Set a slave free.' He said, 'Are they not the same thing?' 'No,' he replied,'Freeing someone is setting someone free yourself. Setting a slave free isto contribute to the price of setting him free. Lend an animal for milkingwhich has a lot of milk and treat your relatives kindly. If you cannot dothat, then command the good and forbid the bad. If you cannot do that, thenrestrain your tongue from everything except what is good."

Hakim ibn Hizam said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, "Do you think that the acts of worship which I used to do in the timeof the Jahiliyya - maintaining relations with relatives, settingslaves free and sadaqa - will bring me a reward?" Hakim saidthat the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,"When you become Muslim, you keep the good actions you have already done."

Ibn 'Umar said, "'Umar saw a silk robe for sale. He said, 'Messengerof Allah, would you buy this robe and wear it on Jumu'a and when delegationsvisit you?' He replied, 'Only a person who has no portion in the Next Worldcould wear this.' Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, was given some robes made of the same material. He sent one ofthe robes to 'Umar. 'Umar exclaimed, 'How can I wear it when you said whatyou said about it?' The Prophet replied, 'I did not give it to you so thatyou could wear it. You can sell it or give it to someone.' 'Umar sent itto one of his half-brothers by his mother who was still an idolater." (see26)

Jubayr ibn Mut'im said that he heard 'Umar ibn al-Khattab say on theminbar, "Learn your lineages so that you can maintain ties of kinship. ByAllah, if there are some bad feelings between a man and his brother and heknows that there is kinship between him and that man, that will prevent himfrom breaking with him."

Ibn 'Abbas said, "Keep a record of your lines of descent so that youcan maintain ties of kinship. He will not make his relatives distant whenthey are close relatives, even if they live far away. He will not considerthem to be close relatives if they are distant ones, even if they live nearto him. Every time of kinship will come on the Day of Rising in front ofeach individual and testify on his behalf that he has maintained that tieof kinship if he did indeed maintain it. It will testify against him thathe cut if off if he cut it off."