Hadees 5 — Ṣilat ar-Raḥim — the Silk Ḥulla for the Mushrik Brother, and the Ties of Kinship صِلَةُ الرَّحِمِ

1 · The four chapters — Kitāb al-Adab continued #

• Still in Kitāb al-Adab of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. You met the three men in the cave (Bāb ijābat duʿāʾ man barra wālidayhi) in Lesson 4; this lesson opens on a new chapter.
• Four chapters, in this order:

2 · The chain read out — and why the wording of a chain matters #

The first ḥadīth is reported with this sanad:

Ḥaddathanā Mūsā bnu Ismāʿīl, ḥaddathanā ʿAbdu-l-ʿAzīzi bnu Muslim, ḥaddathanā ʿAbdullāhi bnu Dīnārin, qāla: samiʿtu bna ʿUmara raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā — "Mūsā ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us; ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muslim narrated to us; ʿAbdullāh ibn Dīnār narrated to us, saying: I heard Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both)…"

This chain is a fine worked example of a condition of authenticity.

• One of the most important conditions for a ḥadīth to be ṣaḥīḥ is that its chain (sanad) be unbroken — that every narrator (rāwī) actually met and heard from the narrator above him.
• The technical expressions are what establish this:
• حَدَّثَنَا — ḥaddathanā, "he narrated to us" — used when the narrator heard directly from his teacher.
• سَمِعْتُ — samiʿtu, "I heard" — even more explicit: I myself heard this from him with my own ears.
• So when ʿAbdullāh ibn Dīnār says samiʿtu bna ʿUmar, he is saying plainly: I heard this directly from Ibn ʿUmar. These expressions are precisely how the scholars verified that no link in the chain was cut.

The chain worked out #

Mūsā ibn Ismāʿīl says "ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muslim narrated to us" → he says "ʿAbdullāh ibn Dīnār narrated to us" → Ibn Dīnār says "I heard Ibn ʿUmar." Each link states its own hearing. The chain is therefore continuous with no gap anywhere — that is what muttaṣil means, and it can be read straight off the text in front of us.

3 · The narration — ʿUmar sees a silk garment for sale #

Ibn ʿUmar reports that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) saw a ḥulla siyarāʾ put up for sale:

Raʾā ʿUmaru ḥullatan siyarāʾa tubāʿ — "ʿUmar saw a ḥulla siyarāʾ being sold."

What a ḥulla siyarāʾ is:

• A ḥulla is a set of clothing — a two-piece outfit.
• Siyarāʾ describes a garment in which portions are of silk — silk worked into it in strips or sections.
• Such garments were being brought and sold at that time; this was one of them. A fine, decorated, beautiful piece.

4 · ʿUmar's suggestion — "buy it, wear it on Friday and for the delegations" #

ʿUmar said to the Prophet ﷺ:

Yā Rasūlallāh, ibtaʿ hādhihi wa-lbas-hā yawma-l-jumuʿati wa idhā jāʾaka-l-wufūd — "O Messenger of Allah, buy this and wear it on the day of Jumuʿah, and when the delegations come to you."

Al-wufūd = the delegations — the parties who came in from outside to meet the Prophet ﷺ. ʿUmar's reasoning was straightforward: this is a beautiful garment; buy it and put it on for Friday, and for the occasions when visiting delegations arrive — so that you appear well before them.

5 · The Prophet's ﷺ reply — "only one who has no share wears this" #

Innamā yalbasu hādhihi man lā khalāqa lahu fī-l-ākhirah — "Only the one who has no share in the Hereafter wears this."

That is: the one who has no portion, no lot at all in the Hereafter — that is who wears such a garment. It is not presented as a matter of taste; it is a matter of who, in the sight of Allah, is choosing this.

6 · Later — the Prophet ﷺ sends ʿUmar one of those very garments #

Afterwards, garments of that kind came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he sent one of them to ʿUmar (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) as a gift.

ʿUmar's response:

Kayfa albasuhā wa qad qulta fīhā mā qult — "How shall I wear it when you have said about it what you said?" You yourself told me that only one with no share in the Hereafter wears this; you gave a clear ruling on it — after that statement of yours, how am I to put it on?

The Prophet ﷺ replied:

Innī lam uʿṭikahā li-talbasahā, walākin tabīʿuhā aw taksūhā — "I did not give it to you so that you would wear it; rather, you may sell it, or clothe [someone else] with it."

That is: take the proceeds from selling it, or give it to someone for whom wearing it is permitted.

So ʿUmar sent the garment to a brother of his in Mecca who had not accepted Islam — a mushrik relative — and that man wore it. That is the incident the ḥadīth reports, and it is why al-Bukhārī places it under Bāb ṣilat al-akh al-mushrik.

The whole narration in order #

1. A silk-worked garment is offered for sale before the Messenger ﷺ.
2. ʿUmar: buy it and wear it on Friday and for the delegations.
3. The Prophet ﷺ: only one with no share in the Hereafter wears such a thing.
4. Later, garments of that kind reach the Prophet ﷺ, and he gifts one to ʿUmar.
5. ʿUmar, remembering the ruling: how could I possibly wear it?
6. The Prophet ﷺ: I did not send it for you to wear — sell it or clothe another with it.
7. ʿUmar sends it to his non-Muslim brother in Mecca.

7 · The question this raises — and the contrast with ribā #

The question: ʿUmar could not wear the garment himself, yet he passed it to another person. Is it permissible to give to someone else something forbidden to you? And is keeping the family bond (ṣilat ar-raḥim) with a mushrik relative, and gifting him, allowed?

The contrast — interest (ribā):

Silk is not in the same category as ribā. Its prohibition is of a different kind — and that is precisely why the disposal the Prophet ﷺ permitted here (tabīʿuhā aw taksūhā) is possible at all.

On silk itself, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said it is forbidden for the males of his ummah:

Ḥarāmun ʿalā dhukūri ummatī — "forbidden for the males of my ummah."

8 · Imām al-Bukhārī's points of law from this ḥadīth #

First — the permissibility of dressing well for Jumuʿah and for delegations.

• Jawāz at-tajammul wa-lubs al-ḥasan yawma-l-jumuʿah wa li-l-wufūd — adorning oneself and wearing good clothing on Fridays and for delegations is permitted, as long as what is worn is itself permissible (mubāḥ).
• Note carefully what was rejected: the Prophet ﷺ did not reject the idea of dressing well for Jumuʿah and for visiting delegations. He rejected this particular garment, because it was silk. The principle behind ʿUmar's suggestion stands.
• The Messenger ﷺ himself would wear fine clothing for the Friday prayer and when delegations came. When people are coming to see you, or you go out to meet others, wearing good clothes is what Islam calls fitting.

Second — silk is ḥarām for men, ḥalāl for women, and may still be sold or given.

• Silk clothing is forbidden for men, permitted for women.
• Even where wearing it is forbidden to you, you may still benefit from it in other lawful ways: sell it and take the proceeds, or give it to someone for whom it is permitted. That is exactly what the Prophet ﷺ told ʿUmar.

Third — kindness to a non-Muslim relative.

• Where there is no harmful consequence, you may do good to such a relative: give him a gift, help him, assist him in his needs.
• ʿUmar sent the garment to his non-Muslim brother and the Prophet ﷺ did not object. Keeping the family bond with a relative who has not accepted Islam, and being generous to him, is legitimate.

Fourth — the Companions' extreme caution about the forbidden.

ʿUmar received a gift from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself — and his first reaction was still: "you said what you said about this; how can I wear it?" That is the level of care they had. When something has been declared ḥarām, we too must be that careful, and must not look for ways around it.

9 · Bāb faḍl ṣilat ar-raḥim — the four deeds that admit to Paradise #

The ḥadīths from here on are largely about family relationships — the ties of kinship (ṣilat ar-raḥim) and how they are to be preserved. This chapter is the virtue of maintaining ties of kinship, and its ḥadīth comes from Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu).

Anna rajulan qāla: yā Rasūlallāh, akhbirnī bi-ʿamalin yudkhilunī-l-jannah — "A man said: O Messenger of Allah, inform me of a deed that will admit me into Paradise."

• Akhbirnī — tell me, inform me.
• Bi-ʿamalin yudkhilunī-l-jannah — of an action, a deed, by which I will enter Paradise. Whatever it takes: tell me the deed that gets me in.

The reaction of those present:

Fa-qāla-l-qawm: mā lah? mā lah? — "The people said: What is the matter with him? What is the matter with him?" They were surprised at the man and at the way he came forward asking.

And the Prophet ﷺ said: أَرَبٌ مَا لَهُ — arabun mā lah — "He has a need." Arab here means a genuine, real need: this man has come with something he seriously needs to know; there is an important matter behind the question. He is not asking idly.

The answer — four things #

Taʿbudu-llāha wa lā tushriku bihi shayʾan, wa tuqīmu-ṣ-ṣalāta, wa tuʾtī-z-zakāta, wa taṣilu-r-raḥim — "You worship Allah and associate nothing with Him; you establish the prayer; you give the zakāh; and you maintain the ties of kinship."

The camel. The man had come on a camel — holding it, or upon it — and after the answer was given the narration includes the instruction to let the animal go: dhari-n-nāqah, "leave the she-camel." The sense of it: the answer had been given, the man's need was met, and he could go on his way.

Why al-Bukhārī places it here #

The man asks — insistently — for a deed that will take him to Paradise; the people are astonished; the Prophet ﷺ says he has a genuine, serious need. And the answer names maintaining ties of kinship among the four. That is why Imām al-Bukhārī brings this ḥadīth under the chapter on the excellence of ṣilat ar-raḥim.

Nothing greater could be said about it than this: ṣilat ar-raḥim is placed alongside worshipping Allah alone, establishing prayer and giving zakāh, as a deed that admits a person to Paradise.

10 · Bāb ithm al-qāṭiʿ — the sin of severing kinship #

The next chapter is the sin of the one who cuts off family ties — ithm al-qāṭiʿ.

Its chain:

ʿAni-bni Shihābin anna Muḥammada bna Jubayri bni Muṭʿimin qāl: inna Jubayra bna Muṭʿimin akhbarah — from Ibn Shihāb, that Muḥammad ibn Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim said: Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim informed him…

So it is Muḥammad ibn Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim reporting from his own father, Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu).

A note on Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim:

• A Companion who accepted Islam later, and from whom a good number of ḥadīths are narrated.
• Note the interesting point here: what he reports in this ḥadīth is something he heard from the Prophet ﷺ before he had accepted Islam. He heard the Messenger ﷺ say it, and later, as a Muslim, he narrated it.

The ḥadīth:

Lā yadkhulu-l-jannata qāṭiʿ — "The one who cuts off [ties of kinship] will not enter Paradise."

The one who lives having severed his family ties will not enter Paradise. That is a terrifying statement — and it shows how serious the matter of ṣilat ar-raḥim is.

11 · How the scholars explain "will not enter Paradise" #

This is an extremely important point, and it must be understood carefully. The scholars explain the statement in more than one way.

Committing a sin versus treating it as no sin #

There are two states here for a Muslim, and they are not the same:

• One man commits the sin but knows it is a sin and feels it as one — he is conscious of the wrong.
• The other does not feel it as a sin at all: he treats it as normal, as permitted, as nothing to be accountable for.

The second man's condition is far worse; his faith itself is gravely weakened. This is what the scholars are pointing at when they explain "he will not enter Paradise": the one who does not consider it a sin, who treats it as an everyday matter.

The upshot: severing kinship ties is a grave sin, one that can lead to the Fire — and, in the case of the person who holds it lawful, to permanence there. That is what the ḥadīth is warning about.

Recap of the chapters so far #

1. The sin of severing kinship (ithm qāṭiʿ ar-raḥim) — a terrible offence, as this ḥadīth shows.
2. Even with relatives who are mushrik, maintaining the family bond as far as you are able is your duty — that was the first ḥadīth, ʿUmar and his brother.
3. Keeping kinship ties brings you good — blessing for you and for them.

12 · Who counts as kin, and what "keeping the tie" actually means #

Who are the relatives (ar-raḥim)?

• Brothers and sisters
• Uncles and aunts
• Their children

— all of these come into it. Not only one's parents. The obligation is much wider than most people assume.

How does one keep the tie?

13 · Bāb man busiṭa lahu fī-r-rizq bi-ṣilat ar-raḥim — provision and lifespan #

The last chapter of the lesson: on the one whose provision is expanded through maintaining kinship. Reported from Abū Hurayrah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu), who said he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

Man aḥabba an yubsaṭa lahu fī rizqihi, wa yunsaʾa lahu fī atharihi, fal-yaṣil raḥimah — "Whoever would love that his provision be expanded for him and his term be extended for him, let him maintain his ties of kinship."

Two rewards, one condition:

What rizq covers — it is not only money #

• Bodily health is a rizq.
• Wealth is a rizq.
• A righteous wife and good children are a rizq.
• Peace of mind, contentment, a settled and happy heart — that too is a rizq.

A good life, a life of ease and gladness, comes under this. So the promise of "expansion in rizq" is that whole breadth, not a bank balance.

Barakah — blessing, not amount #

Allah puts blessing in it: in your children, in your wife, in your household — a barakah that runs through all of it. And with money, the point is not that the amount increases; it is that blessing enters it.

An example: one man earns a modest income and it suffices; his affairs are settled and there is enough. Another earns many times that and it is consumed: doctors' bills, tests, medicines, one thing after another, and nothing remains. The larger income does not last and the smaller one does. That is barakah, and it is a distinct thing from the figure itself. Whether a man's earnings are enough for his life, or simply drain away — that is what is at issue.

14 · The extension of lifespan — how the scholars read it #

The second promise — yunsaʾa lahu fī atharihi, increase in lifespan. The Imāms hold several views:

Imām al-Nawawī as the illustration #

• On the second reading the lifespan does not literally lengthen; rather, the man is given in a short span what another does not achieve in a long one.
• Imām al-Nawawī (raḥimahullāh) lived only into his forties — and look at his contribution: some twenty large volumes, and works running into the hundreds, from a man of that age. That is not a normal output for such a life.
• And their contribution does not stop at death — people go on benefiting from it long after they are gone, generation after generation. That too is a form of the life being extended.

15 · Closing #

Take these ḥadīths on kinship ties together, and act on them properly. — Jazākumullāhu khayran.