Maintain Family Ties
The imam mentioned in today’s khutba, two ayats from Sura Ar-Ra’d which are translated to say:
and those who maintain whatever ˹ties˺ Allah has ordered to be maintained, stand in awe of their Lord, and fear strict judgment. And ˹they are˺ those who endure patiently, seeking their Lord’s pleasure,1 establish prayer, donate from what We have provided for them—secretly and openly—and respond to evil with good. It is they who will have the ultimate abode:
Dear brothers, from one of the many lessons that can be derived from this is that of family ties that need to be maintained.
Alongside this reminder from Allah SWT, we also have numerous hadith in which the prophet SAWS educated us on our conduct regarding family.
One of these is translated to say:
A man said to the Prophet (ﷺ): “Direct me to a deed which may admit me to Jannah.” Upon this he (the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)) said, “Worship Allah and never associate anything with Him in worship, establish Salat, pay Zakat, and strengthen the ties of kinship.”
Dear brothers, from this we can see the importance of strengthening ties. But why is this reminder particularly important today? Well, one of the many side-effects of the pandemic is one which has been overlooked and that is the effect it has on the psychology of the people.
There is no question that we should ignore the laws of this land. It is clear that we are in lockdown and must follow the rules in relation to keeping distance and not mixing for the sake of the health of the society.
However, now is the time, more than ever that we do not ignore the importance of staying connected to one another. Whether it is via support bubbles or a simple phone call, we need to make sure that once this pandemic is over insh’Allah, we minimize the impact it has on the mental health of each other.
This can only be achieved through the maintenance of ties with each other. Remember, we live in a time and a place where it almost feels unnatural to keep ties with family. Instead society places weight on strangers who follow us on Facebook or like our posts on Instagram. Don’t let this take you away from the relationships that matter because that is key to todays reminder.
And as the imam reminded us, the prophet SAWS educated us on the importance of this through the following hadith which is translated to say:
“There is no sin more deserving that Allah hasten the punishment in this world, in addition to what is stored up for him in the Hereafter – than injustice and severing the ties of kinship.”
May Allah SWT instil in our hearts the importance of maintaining family ties, may Allah SWT enable us to strengthen the ties of kinship and may Allah SWT reward us in our efforts in this.
