Honour the rights of relatives

Maintain good ties with your relatives and treat them well, worshippers will hear on Friday.

“Allah has accorded a great status for those doing good for one’s relatives,” the sermon will say.

According to the Quran, among the greatest ways family members can keep their loved-ones close are to call them regularly and to visit them in person whenever possible.

The Prophet Mohammed set the example to follow by honouring his ties of kinship and visiting his uncles.

“The uncle of a man is the same as his father,” he said.

The Prophet also used to visit his paternal aunt Safiya Bint Abdul Muttalib, as well as his two maternal aunts. He would say: “The aunt is of the same status as the mother.”

The holy Quran says: “Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives.”

Among the acts of goodness Allah urges Muslims to do is to provide for relatives less fortunate than themselves.

The Quran says: “So give the relative his right, as well as the needy and the traveller. That is best for those who desire the countenance of Allah, and it is they who will be the successful.”

The reward for helping relatives, the sermon says, will not only be witnessed in this world but also in the Hereafter.

It says relatives’ rights must be honoured even after their death. The Quran says it is the duty of a Muslim to take care of the dead relatives’ interests and to look after their offspring.