Tswv yim ntawm Lub Limtiam: Be Kind and Maintain Family Ties

The importance of maintaining ties with kin by being good to them is something that should never be underestimated as it’s encouraged in several chapters in the Quran including Surah An-Nisa, nqe Vajlugkub 36 “…..and be good to parents and the near kin…”.

Cov tug yawm saub pom hais tias, "The one who maintains family ties is not one who merely treats his relatives well in order to return their good treatment of him. The one who really maintains family ties is a person who treats them well despite them being unkind to him”, Al Bukhari.

It is easy to be nice to someone who is nice to us in return. But not everything we are encouraged to do is easy. Dealing with unpleasant relatives for example is one, taking the initiative to be kind to them is another.

However if we succeed in being kind to them despite their unpleasantness then we have fulfilled the true meaning behind Allah’s command of maintaining family ties. Li ntawd, yog li, put the unpleasantness aside and take comfort in knowing that Allah knows your efforts and thatreward is with Him, Glorifies and Exalted is He.