Who are the uterine relatives (dhawu al-arham) who have a right over the questioner, and are in-laws—the wife's parents, her brothers, and her sisters—among them and do they have rights over him?

The kinship ties (al-rahm) that are obligatory to maintain are relatives from both the father's and mother's sides. As for in-laws, they have a relationship similar to that of blood relatives (al-arham), and for this reason, Allah Almighty linked them together in His saying: "And it is He who created from water a human being and made him [a man of] lineage and marriage relations. And ever is your Lord competent [in creating]." In-laws do not have obligatory rights to financial support, but they must be treated with kindness and good companionship. Indeed, the Prophet, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, advised concerning the people of Egypt, saying: "For they have a covenant and kinship (rahm)," and in another narration: "a covenant and in-law relation (sihr)."