The ties of kinship — and who the hadith says is not keeping them
المصدر: Quran 4:1, 4:36, 13:21, 13:25, 16:90, 17:26, 47:22-23; Sahih al-Bukhari 2067, 5984, 5987, 5988, 5991, 5995; Sahih Muslim 593, 2554, 2555, 2556, 2558
The most important hadith on this subject redefines the word before giving the ruling:
The one who keeps ties is not the one who reciprocates. The one who keeps ties is the one who, when his ties are cut, restores them.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5991.
The common understanding is that silah rahmi means keeping in touch with relatives — with those who keep in touch with you. The hadith says that is not silah rahmi; that is merely reciprocity, and it carries no special rank.
What Islam calls wasil is the one who connects in one direction.
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