Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

My elder brother, being married, has committed the sin of Zina several times. I have completely finished my relations with him. Am I right or what i have to do?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Break relations with brother

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Beloved brother in Islam, as grave and as heinous the sin of ‘zina’ is in the Sight of Allah Subhanah; the crime of breaking or severing relations of blood which the Lord Creator has Himself designated for man is absolutely colossal in the Sight of the Lord.

Time and time again has Allah and His Messenger (saws) commanded and guided the believers who sincerely fear Allah and the Last Day to honor the ties of kinship, absolutely regardless of their deeds and actions.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 6 (part):

Blood-relations amongst each other have closer personal ties in the Decree of Allah….

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 177:

177 It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces toward east or west; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah, and the Last Day, and the Angel,s and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance out of love for Him for your kith and kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of Truth, the Allah-fearing.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 90:

90 Allah Commands justice the doing of good and liberality to kith and kin and He forbids all shameful deeds and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you that ye may receive admonition.

Allah Subhanah has given no one the right to break the blood relations which the Lord Himself has created for mankind…..absolutely regardless of whatever might have transpired in the past, or whatever one fears might happen in the future…..it would be absolutely unlawful, illegal and a grave sin in the Sight of the Lord for one to break or sever relations with ones kith and kith, or relations which the Lord Most Majestic Himself has created for mankind.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 13 Surah Ar-Raad verse 25:

As for those who break their covenant with Allah after confirming it, who cut asunder relationships which Allah has bidden to be joined, and spread chaos on the earth, their’s shall be the curse, and they shall have a wretched abode in the Hereafter.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Bakarah verse 27:

And He leads astray only those who disobey Allah, who break Allah’s covenant after ratifying it, who cut asunder relationships what Allah has ordered to be joined, and who produce chaos on the Earth. These are indeed the people who are the losers.

Respected brother in Islam, absolutely regardless of what your brother might choose to do…..it is your duty and obligation if indeed you fear Allah and the Last Day that not only do you not break relations with them, but you strive to do good to him, expecting your reward from none save your Lord Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.17 Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (saws) said, "The word 'Ar-Rahm (womb) derives its name from Ar-Rahman (i.e., one of the names of Allah) and Allah said: 'I will keep good relation with the one who will keep good relation with you (the womb, i.e. kith and kin), and sever the relation with him who will sever the relation with you (the womb, i.e. kith and kin).’”

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.20 Narrated by Abdullah bin Amr

The Prophet (saws) said, "’Al-Wasil’ (the one who does good to his relatives) is not he who recompenses the good done to him by his relatives, but ‘Al-Wasil’ is he who keeps good relations with those relatives who had severed the bond of kinship with him."

Respected brother in Islam, we remind you as we remind ourselves, if you are satisfied that Allah Subhanah, the Lord of the Worlds, should (I seek refuge in Allah from even saying this!) sever relations with you….then go ahead and do as you please! But if the pain and anguish of Allah Subhanah severing relations with you is greater than the restoring of bond of relationship with your kith and kin, then fear Allah, turn to Him in sincere repentance, and strive your absolute utmost to restore your bond of relationship with your brother.

What you can and should do is politely but firmly warn your brother regarding his manifest transgressions of the prescribed Boundaries of Allah Subhanah, and strive your utmost to instill the fear of Allah and that Inevitable Day of Accounting into him….but, regardless of what your brother chooses to do, to break relations with one’s own brother is not even an option in Islam!

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan