Who are Al-Arhaam, the Relations of the Womb whom it is Required to Nurture relations with?
Question :
Who are one's Al-Arhaam (relatives by virtue of the womb) and Dhul-Qurba (near relatives)? I have heard some people say that one's wife's relatives are not from the Al-Arhaam?
Answer:
Al-Arhaam are your relatives from both your father's and mother's side. They are the ones who are meant in Allâh Almighty's saying in Surahs Al-Anfal and Al-Ahzab:
"But kindred by the womb are nearer to one another regarding inheritance in the decree ordained by Allah.
The closest relations are parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren. After them come brothers and sisters and their children, followed by one's father's brothers and sisters and their children. Then come one's mother's brothers and sisters and their children. A man asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ,"Whom should I be most dutiful to, O Messenger of Allah?" He ﷺ said,
"Your mother,"
"Then whom?" The Prophet ﷺ said,
"Your mother."
"Then whom?"
"Your mother."
"Then whom?"
"Your father, and then in order of relation beginning with the closest (to you)."
The wife's relatives are not Arhaam to the husband unless they are his relatives too, but they are the Arhaam to any children that they bear. And with Allah is the facilitation to do what is right.
Source:
Ibn Baz
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 7 Pages 310-311
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