Today, let’s pretend I’m a reporter. I’m a reporter trying to give you the juice on how ‘Eid ul Adha was spent over here.
There wasn’t much that went on. I got involved in the traditions of ‘Eid that most people are already accustomed to. Meeting lots of people. Hiring people to cook. Supervising the cooks and cleaners. Spending the day with extended family, etc.
In case this letter feels flat, I would like you to keep in mind the fact that I’m experiencing writer’s block. I don’t know the trigger or the cause but I’m trying to write my way through it because I thought about you and I didn’t want to leave you hanging.
My favourite part of ‘Eid was meeting extended family members. I’m talking about people who are related to the family only because they married someone whose sister married someone whose cousin married someone who is our cousin’s brother-in-law. Yes, that type of extension. Yet, it was quite enjoyable. Alhamdulillah.
I would like to drop a reminder on why this was such a great experience and act of worship.
Here is a report in Al Adab Al Mufrad on maintaining the ties of kinship.
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari told him that a bedouin came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was travelling. He asked, "Tell me what will bring me near to the Garden and keep me far from the Fire." He replied, "Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, perform the prayer, pay zakat, and maintain ties of kinship." 1
This shows that we can even come closer to Allah by maintaining the ties of kinship. Even if we would like to cut them off because of something they did or didn’t do to hurt us, we can still find ways to obey Allah in this aspect of our lives.
I’d suggest a couple of things that work for me when it comes to doing this. I know we may not all have the time and energy required to keep in touch with all these people. However, you can try to send them messages from time to time via WhatsApp or pick a day to call everyone in a certain part of the family. If you don’t have the time for calls, you can set aside some money to send a little affordable gift over to them every once in a while. May Allah make it easy.
Fee Amanillah ❣️
Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani) صـحـيـح (الألباني) حكم :
Reference : Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 49In-book reference : Book 2, Hadith 3English translation : Book 2, Hadith 49
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