Maintaining Family Ties (Silat al-Rahm) refers to maintaining connections with relatives, whether through blood or marriage. One of the key elements of a healthy lifestyle is having strong and meaningful relationships with relatives, which is described in Islamic teachings as Silat al-Rahm. Despite being emphasized repeatedly in various sources and expressed in different ways, this noble tradition has been largely neglected in modern societies. In Islamic thought, the importance of Silat al-Rahm is evident from the fact that it is considered a religious obligation, and severing these ties is viewed as a sinful act.
Modern life, with its individualistic and self-centered tendencies, has distanced family members from one another, leading to a widespread neglect of this great moral and Islamic value. Islam gives extraordinary importance to Silat al-Rahm, encouraging kindness, support, and love toward relatives, and strongly prohibits severing such relationships. The Holy Qur’an urges people to maintain family ties and considers it an act of the wise, while describing those who cut them off as sinners.
Introduction
Silat al-Rahm involves visiting and maintaining contact with relatives, whether through blood or marital ties. However, the type of relation that is religiously obligatory to maintain—and whose severance is prohibited—is a blood relative known to be part of one’s kin, even if distant and not a mahram (those one is permanently forbidden to marry).
Silat al-Rahm means showing kindness, empathy, and support to one’s relatives through one’s life, wealth, and any other means of good that a person can offer. According to a Hadith, when Allah created the womb (rahm), He derived its name from His own and said: “Whoever maintains ties with you, I will maintain ties with them, and whoever cuts you off, I will cut them off.”
Silat al-Rahm is a recommended act in Islam that, if revived, can prevent numerous moral and social corruptions. Its personal and societal effects are so significant that fulfilling this divine command strengthens not only family and individual bonds but also the foundations of the entire society. It serves as a powerful means for societal reform and progress. God, in His perfect knowledge of human nature and needs, created humans as inherently social beings, and Silat al-Rahm is one way He has prescribed for humans to meet this natural need and to benefit from its spiritual and material rewards.
Conceptual Understanding
The term Silat al-Rahm is composed of two Arabic words: Silah, which means connection or attachment, and Rahm, which literally means the womb or the place where a child develops in the mother. In this context, Rahm is used metaphorically to refer to kinship and family ties.
Silat al-Rahm thus means maintaining relationships and meeting with relatives, as well as offering them help and support. Some scholars interpret it specifically as doing good and showing kindness to one’s kin. Interestingly, some of Allah’s Names—such as Rahman and Rahim—share the same root as Rahm, indicating a deep, divine link between mercy and family ties.
The Position and Importance of Silat al-Rahm (Maintaining Family Ties)
Islam places great emphasis on friendship and love among Muslims—even among those who are not related—let alone when it comes to relatives such as parents, children, siblings, uncles, aunts, nephews, and nieces.
What benefit does it bring to God or the Prophet if relatives love each other? And what harm does it cause them if they break their bonds? The Merciful Creator and the caring Prophet seek to guide humanity toward true perfection and happiness, ensuring their welfare and dignity in both this world and the Hereafter. That is why severing family ties is considered a major sin, and its prohibition comes with stern warnings to awaken and alert people.
Silat al-Rahm is among the teachings greatly emphasized by Allah Almighty. The Qur’an repeatedly instructs people to uphold family ties and to spend on their relatives. As Allah says: “وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا” Translation: “Be mindful of Allah, in whose name you make requests of one another, and of the ties of kinship. Surely Allah is ever watching over you.”
“وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا” Translation: “Be good to your parents, your relatives, the orphans, and the needy. Speak kindly to people.”
“وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُولُو الْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُوا أُولِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ” Translation: “Let not those among you who are blessed with wealth and abundance swear not to give to their relatives, the needy, and those who migrated for the sake of Allah.”
The repetition of a theme in the Qur’an is an indication of its significance. According to the Qur’an, people will be questioned about Silat al-Rahm on the Day of Judgment. Moreover, the Qur’an curses those who sever family ties and warns that Allah will block their perception of truth.
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