Maintaining happy personal relationship, especially ties of kinship, is of vital importance in human life. It ensures smooth sailing of life and earns great rewards from God, both here and in the hereafter. But, thanks to the lopsided growth of science and technology as well as to crass materialism that is taking deep roots into our family and social life, generally people do not take care of practising this great virtue. The reason is their rejection of the truth or at least indifference to the message of the Lord, the Creator and Master.
Earlier this month, a shocking revelation made a headline, “Hyderabad: When doctors stood witness to confessions,” in a national daily. The report says that the doctors at Gandhi Hospital, the nodal healthcare facility in Telangana for the Covid-19 pandemic, were witness to confessions of many dying persons. “In fact, a yearning to correct a wrong they had done to loved ones often occupied their minds on the deathbed,” says the report. The report reveals many ‘confessions’: for example, “a 45-year-old patient who knew death was awaiting him told his doctor he had not spoken to his brother in 10 years after a tiff over property.” Some of them wept bitterly and wanted to meet their loved ones before their last moment.
This shows how irresponsible a life people love to lead. If they know for certain that their stay on earth is temporal, that they have to leave this earth one day, and that they will be reawakened on the Day of Judgement, they can keep from doing wrongs with themselves as well as with their kins and friends. But the most vital issue in this discussion is man’s relationship with the Divine Message. If he responds to the Divine Message, follows it in life in toto, does what this Message permits to do and stops from doing whatever this Message prohibits, he can lead a successful life. If not, there can appear many hurdles, wrongdoings, errors, sins and crimes in life. The Qur’ān (47:22) makes it abundantly clear that causing corruption of sorts in the land and breaking ties of kinship are the ultimate consequences of turning away from the Divine Message. The Holy Book says: “If you turn away now, is it to be expected of you that you will spread corruption in the land and break your ties of kinship?” This ayah threatens those who persist in rejecting the message of Truth and follow the outright unbelief.
If we love to follow the teachings of God, we will be able to strengthen cordial relationships with our kith and kin and seek to help them. And, as reward, God shall lengthen our lives, grant us an increase in our livelihood and subject us to an easy reckoning on the Day of Judgment.