Sunday, May 15 / International Day of Families 2016 & May 15-21 / Family Week 2016

“SPREADING SALAM AND PROTECT FAMILY RELATIONSHİP”
Sunday, May 15 / International Day of Families 2016
&
May 15-21 / Family Week 2016
بِسْمِ اللهِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم
“Remain conscious of Allah, in whose name you demand [your rights] from one another, and of these ties of kinship.” (An-Nisa, 4/1)
“The tie of kinship is suspended to the Throne and says: He who unites me Allah would unite him and he who severed me Allah would sever him.” (Muslim, Kitab al Birr wa’l silah,17. Chapter 4, number 6198)

We met with new International Day of Families. As nowadays we realize the necessity of social relations for the world peace, it is obvious the importance of relations in family as it highlighted in UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the 16/3 article saying; “the family is society’s natural and fundamental unit.”

Today, freedom, equality, hedonism, egoism, materialism, religious views, lifestyle imposed by the attitudes or behavior patterns have affected the relationships between people. When healthy relationship diminished, violence has come to the forefront.

While financial development has been aimed in the family, relations have been pushed to the background; therefore mercy, affection, calmness decreased gradually. Allegedly, financial development supposed to be achieved but family members separated from one another and the children affected from it mostly. Thus, this brings in violence in society.

Islamic societies are also get their share. While globalization, sharing the knowledge spreading in the world, also negative media shares getting its acceleration. Today mostly we need unity, love, brotherhood, practice of our religion. The solution of dealing with such issues such as imposed cultures and perception changes could be possible only the way of setting up healthy relationship in family and spreading it to all communities.

In Qur’an, protecting relatives and strengthening ties with them has commanded in many verses for the establishment of brotherly relations. And discontinuation of this relation has prohibited strictly.

Protecting family ties as we called “Silat-al Rahm” unfortunately is about to be forgotten with the excuse of struggle for life, relationships of affection between the people began to be adversely affected.

“Silat-al Rahm”, not only commanded for the family members and relatives, it is also should be our duty for neighbors, friends, colleagues, coreligionist and all contacts around us.

Putting such ties between people and set it among obligatory orders for us is a great blessing and mercy to the people from Almighty Allah.
This treatment gives harmony impact to grow relationship based on affection between people and communities. This impact will be understood better if we consider the government as a largest family in Islamic civilization.

As our prophet (saw) advised us;
“Whoever believes in Allah and the last day, must not to cut the relations of kinship”,
“Silat al Rahm, good manners, being nice to people makes the peoples’ lives longer and brings prosperity to the regions”,
“ Do not cut relation even they cut it from you, do good things even they do evil things to you, speak the truth even if against yourself”
“O people! Spread greetings, give food in charity, and pray at night when people are sleeping; then, you will enter Paradise in peace”
We must do something about these two duties which Qur’an orders us;

1- Being the most beneficial ummah for the humankind via enjoining good & forbidding evil
2- Being the role model with adopting midway in Islam

Awareness of this task, starting today, we urge you to take action to bring Silat al Rahm to life, keep this value alive in order to develop healthy relationship in the community.

We recommended as a first step, we need to begin greetings each other when we meet and call our relatives who we did not keep in touch for a long time.

In this regard, we invite all non-governmental organizations, including our members, policy makers, opinion leaders to make incentive, facilitate programs & projects.

We aim to get into this project refugees who came to our country due to the uninhabitable conditions in their country.

We wish this “International Day of Families and Family Week” will lead to a result of establishment peace in the families and the society.

Union of Non-Governmental Organization of the Islamic World
(UNIW)
Woman, Family and Youth Commission Co-Chair
Dr. Rabiye Yılmaz