Who are the relatives with whom ties must be kept?
Short answer
Relatives are the kin on the father's side and the mother's side, and the Muslim begins with the nearest, then the next nearest; as for the relatives of the husband or wife, they are in-laws and not relatives by lineage.
Evidence and explanation
The Shaykh mentioned that relatives on the father's and mother's sides come under 'rahim', cited verses and hadiths on keeping kinship ties, and distinguished between them and in-laws.
Scholar referenced
This editorial summary is based on the original source linked below and is not presented as a verbatim quotation from the scholar.
From the text of the answer (Arabic, with an English translation)
Original answer — Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz
من هم الأرحام؟ وهل أقارب الزوج والزوجة منهم؟ — فتوى ١٣٨٠٢- Question
«هذه رسالة من المواطن (ص. س) من المدينة المنورة، يقول: أرجو إفادتي بالتفصيل عن صلة الرحم، وهل تشمل أهل الزوجة والزوج بالنسبة لبعضهم البعض أم لا؟ ومن هم الأرحام؟»
English translation (unreviewed): This is a letter from the citizen (S. S.) from Medina, who says: Please advise me in detail about maintaining kinship ties, and does it include the in-laws of the wife and the husband with respect to one another or not? And who are the relatives?
- From the text of the answer
«الأرحام: هم الأقارب من جهة الأم، ومن جهة الأب، فالآباء والأمهات والأجداد والجدات أرحام، والأولاد وأولادهم من ذكور وإناث وأولاد البنات كلهم أرحام، وهكذا الإخوة والأخوات وأولادهم أرحام، وهكذا الأعمام والعمات والأخوال والخالات وأولادهم أرحام، داخلون كلهم في قوله -جل وعلا-: وَأُوْلُوا الأَرْحَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلَى بِبَعْضٍ [الأنفال:٧٥] وداخلون في قوله متوعدًا لأهل القطيعة بقوله : فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَنْ تُفْسِدُوا فِي الأَرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوا أَرْحَامَكُمْ أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فَأَصَمَّهُمْ وَأَعْمَى أَبْصَارَهُمْ»
English translation (unreviewed): The relatives (arham) are the kin on the mother's side and on the father's side: fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers are relatives; children and their children, male and female, and the children of daughters are all relatives; likewise brothers and sisters and their children are relatives; likewise paternal uncles and aunts, maternal uncles and aunts and their children are relatives. All of them fall under the saying of the Mighty and Majestic: “And those of blood relationship are more entitled to one another” [al-Anfal: 75], and under His saying, threatening those who cut ties: “Would you then, if you turned away, cause corruption on earth and sever your ties of kinship? Those are the ones Allah has cursed, so He made them deaf and blinded their vision” [Muhammad: 22-23].
The Arabic excerpts matched the original page word for word by an automated check and have not had human scholarly review. The English translations are unreviewed translations made for this site; they are not an approved Shari‘ah translation. Rely on the Arabic original.
Source
Who are the relatives? And are the husband's and wife's relatives among them?
Title of the original page (Arabic): من هم الأرحام؟ وهل أقارب الزوج والزوجة منهم؟
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him