Breaking the ties of kinship is a sin that the Muslim whose heart is filled with true guidance and the desire to obey Allah and earn His pleasure will never commit because it is one of the sins that Allah has said will bring punishment; indeed, it is one of the foremost sins for which Allah will punish the one who is guilty of them both in this world and the next, as is stated in the hadith: “There is no worse sin for which Allah will hasten the punishment of one who is guilty of it in this world – in addition to what awaits him in the Hereafter – than the breaking the ties of kinship and oppressing others.” (Ahmad)

The acts of breaking the ties of kinship and oppressing others are very much like one another, so the Prophet (SAW) mentioned them together in this hadith. Breaking the ties of kinship is a kind of zulm (oppression), and what zulm can be worse than breaking off relation with one’s kin and destroying ties of love and affection?

The Prophet (SAW) described the oppression that befalls the ties of kinship when they are cut off. He (SAW) said: “The ties of kinship (rahm) is a close-knit relationship that comes from Allah, the Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman). It says: ‘O’ my lord, I have been oppressed, ‘O’ my Lord, I have been cut off.’ He answers, ‘Will you not be content if I cut off the one who cut you off and take care of the one who takes care of you?’” (Bukhari)

Allah raised the status of the tie of kinship and honored it by deriving its name, rahm, from one of His names, Ar-Rahman. For He said: “I am Ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful), and I have created rahm and derived its name from My name. Whoever takes care of it, I will take care of him, and whoever cut it off, I will forsake him.” (Bukhari)

This indicates to the sensitive Muslim that the one who upholds the ties of kinship properly will enjoy the cool shade of his Lord’s mercy, and the one who breaks those ties will be denied that shade, forsaken and abandoned.

The true Muslim upholds the ties of kinship and does not let his worldly concerns, wealth, wife, or children distract him from keeping in touch with his relatives, honoring them, and helping them. In doing so, he is following Islamic teaching, which regulates these relationships and ranks them in order of priority and degree of closeness, starting with the mother, then moving on to the father, then other relatives, from the most closely related to others who are more distantly related.

A man came to the Prophet (SAW) and asked: “‘O’ Messenger of Allah, who is most deserving of my good company?’ He said: ‘Your mother, your mother, your mother, then your father, then those who are most closely related to you.’” (Bukhari and Muslim)

The Muslim earns two rewards when he treats his relatives with kindness and respect: one reward for maintaining the relationship, and another reward for giving charity. This gives him a greater incentive to give to his relatives if they are in need. By doing so, he will earn two rewards from Allah, and will also win the affection of his relatives. This is what the Prophet (SAW) encouraged Muslims to do, in the hadith narrated by Zainab at-Thaqafiyah, the wife of Abdullah ibn Masud (RA), who said:” The Prophet (SAW) said: “‘O’ women, give in charity even if it is some of your jewelry.’ She said, I went back to Abdullah ibn Masud and told him, ‘You are a man of little wealth, and the Prophet has commanded us to give charity, so go and ask him whether it is permissible for me to give you charity. If it is, I will do so; if not, I will give charity to someone else.’ Abdullah said, ‘No, you go and and ask.’ So I went, and I found a woman of the Ansar at the Prophet’s door, who also had the same question. We felt too shy to go in, out of respect, so Bilal came out and we asked him, ‘Go and tell the Messenger of Allah that there are two women at the door asking you: Is it permissible for them to give sadaqah to their husbands and the orphans in their care? But do not tell him who we are.’ So Bilal went in and conveyed this message to the Prophet, who asked, ‘Who are they?’ Bilal said, ‘One of the women of the Ansar, and Zaynab.’ The Prophet asked, ‘Which Zaynab is it?’ Bilal said, ‘The wife of Abdullah.’ The Prophet said, ‘They will have two rewards, the reward for upholding the relationship, and the reward for giving charity.’” (Bukhari and Muslim)

(To be continued)

by Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi