Date : 24-08-2009

Question :

Who are the relatives entitled to rights of kinship and are there Sharia regulations for dealing with them?


The Answer :

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.



From the perspective of Shariah, relatives entitled to rights of kinship are all maternal and paternal relatives, and it is recommended that a Muslim upholds kinship ties with them as well as be dutiful to them. However, the closer the relatives, the more entitled they are to the rights of kinship.



Ibn Hajar (May Allah have mercy on him) said: "Relatives entitled to rights of kinship-whom a Muslim is obliged to be dutiful to and is prohibited from severing kinship ties with- are all paternal or maternal relatives. Then Ibn Hajar quoted from [Al-Azkar]: "It is recommended to visit, honor, and be dutiful to the righteous, brothers, neighbors, friends and relatives. However, it is recommended that a person takes their conditions and free time into consideration prior to visiting them, and this is actually reflected in many Prophetic narrations." {Al-Fatawa Al-Fiqhia Al-Kobra] (vol.4/pp.244) - The version of The Islamic Library.



Accordingly, it is recommended that a Muslim visits his relatives and be dutiful to them through helping them financially, attending to their needs, visiting them, or keeping in touch with them, and the like. This is provided that no violations of Sharia are committed, such as mixing between the sexes or men having privacy with women. And Allah Knows Best.