The Importance Of Kinship In Islam

The importance of kinship and maintaining the ties of kinship is evident from the teachings of Quran and Islam. One can easily see that it is very important as the teachings have been repeated numerous times in the Hadith and Quran. According to a Hadith,
“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him maintain the bonds of kinship.” (Bukhari)
Allah urges Muslims to be kind and compassionate in all kinds of dealings with friends and family members. In this case, family refers to immediate as well as extended family. This has great importance in Islam because it will result in positive societal affects and will lead to united Muslim families. Additionally, when families are united, they result in a more united nation and Ummah.
Allah knows about everything because He is the All-Knower. Therefore, He knows that severing ties with family members is not right for the Muslim community. Therefore, Muslims should avoid breaking ties based on petty problems such as money, personal grudges, envy and differences in religious beliefs.
Money
It is a sad and depressing fact that most individuals in this world are materialistic. The world revolves around materialistic gain and people often break their ties when those who are not financially as strong as they are. It is very sad to see that often family members break their ties with other family members simply because they do not fall into the same income bracket. Allah says in the Holy Quran,
“And those who break the covenant of Allah, after its ratification, and sever that which Allah has commanded to be joined (i.e. they sever the bond of kinship and are not good to their relatives) and work mischief in the land, on them is the curse, and for them is the unhappy home.” (Ar-Rad:25 also Muhammad:22-23)
In this verse, Allah curses those who sever their ties with their family. These people are deprived of the mercy of Allah. Allah urges Muslims to be kind and compassionate to those who are economically and financially not so stable. Providing financial support to family members in the time of their need is a pious act and Allah rewards those people immensely.
Personal Grudgesr
Being a human being, it is understandable to have misunderstandings and false assumptions. However, those who forgive and accept apologies are among the ones that Allah loves. Allah encourages Muslims to have a clean and pure heart, free of grudges and misunderstandings.
Envyr
Even in a family, some family members will be more blessed than others. This is because Allah has not created everyone equal, even if everyone is equal in the eyes of Allah. This means that individual differences exist and based on these individual differences, some people are believed to be more blessed than others. Therefore, even family members can be jealous or envious of others achievements. Allah says in the Quran,
“Allah favored some of you over others with wealth and properties-Do they deny the favors of Allah?” (Surah Nahl:71)
Conclusionr
Therefore, the importance of maintaining relationship with your family and kin is manifold in Islam. It is the duty of Muslims to follow the Quran Teaching in this regard and to avoid breaking ties based on petty problems.