“maintain the ties of kinship.” In so saying, the Prophet ﷺ counted keeping family ties among the deeds that lead a person into Paradise and keep him far from the Fire.
There can be no doubt that every human being longs for this immense gain—to escape the Fire and enter Paradise. Whoever is turned away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has truly triumphed. Every Muslim strives for that, and it is secured through four matters:
- You worship Allah alone, associating nothing with Him—neither minor nor major shirk.
- You establish the prayer, performing it perfectly at its prescribed times: in congregation if you are a man, and individually if you are a woman.
- You pay the zakat, giving the portion Allah has made obligatory from your wealth to those entitled to it.
- You maintain the ties of kinship, granting your relatives the kindness and connection that people customarily recognize as such. Whatever people normally regard as fulfilling kinship is considered fulfillment; whatever they do not so regard is not—unless one lives in a society that neglects relatives altogether, in which case the standard is the connection acknowledged by the Sacred Law itself.
The author then cites the ḥadīth of Salmān ibn ʿĀmir al-Ḍabbī: that one should break the fast with dates, and if none are found, then with water; and that charity to a needy stranger counts as one charity, whereas charity to a needy relative counts as two: charity and maintaining the tie.
Hence the scholars say: when two poor people confront you—one a relative and the other not—the relative has priority, for he is more deserving of your bond.
The author next mentions the ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who had a wife he loved,