Is it obligatory to maintain kinship ties with a hostile maternal aunt who threatens to defame one, especially since she is elderly and needs someone to inquire about her?

Maintaining kinship ties is obligatory, and severing them is forbidden. It is obligatory to maintain kinship ties even with those who sever them, for the one who truly maintains ties is he who connects with his relatives when they cut him off. The maternal aunt is considered to be like a mother. However, if maintaining ties with a relative causes definite harm to the one maintaining the ties, then it is not obligatory in that instance. The Sharia has not specified a particular method for maintaining kinship ties; the reference in this regard is custom. Maintaining ties can be achieved through visiting, calling, correspondence, greeting, and anything that custom considers a way of maintaining ties. There are degrees to maintaining ties, the lowest of which is refraining from desertion and connecting through speech, even if only with a greeting. This varies according to one's ability and need. So, maintain ties with your maternal aunt to the extent and in a manner that does not cause harm, such as inquiring about her and fulfilling her needs without her knowledge. For whoever desires that his provision be expanded for him or his lifespan be extended, let him maintain his kinship ties.