Does "maintaining kinship ties" (ṣilat al-raḥim) pertain only to the mother's side, given its derivation from the term "womb" (al-raḥim), or does it include both the mother's and father's sides, such that for the mother's relatives it is "ṣilat al-raḥim" and for the father's relatives it is "ṣilat al-faḍl" (ties of virtue/favor)?

The jurists differed regarding the definition of kinship ties (Rahim) that must be maintained. Some held the view that it refers only to unmarriageable kin (mahram), while others believed that kinship is general, encompassing all blood relatives in inheritance, whether unmarriageable or not, and this is the more preponderant opinion. Al-Qurtubi divided kinship into general kinship, which is the kinship of religion, and specific kinship, which is the kinship of relatives from both the father's and mother's sides. The kinship that must be maintained and whose severance is prohibited includes relatives from the ascendants, descendants, and collaterals, and this is not limited to the mother's family.