It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: I am al-Rahman. I created al-rahim (the tie of kinship) and derived it from My name. So whoever joins it, I will join him, and whoever severs it, I will cut him off (at the root)."

It is narrated from Abu Salamah that Abu al-Raddad fell ill, and Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf came to visit him. Abu al-Raddad said (in his praise): As far as I know, the best of them and the most devoted to maintaining ties of kinship is Abu Muhammad (Abd al-Rahman bin Awf). Then Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: I am Allah and I am al-Rahman. I created al-rahim (the tie of kinship) and derived it from My name. So whoever joins it, I will join him, and whoever severs it, I will cut him off."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: I am al-Rahman. I created al-rahim and derived it from My name. So whoever joins it, I will join him, and whoever severs it, I will separate him (from My mercy)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: I am al-Rahman. I created al-rahim and derived it from My name. So whoever joins it, I will join him, and whoever severs it, I will cut him off."

Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) visited Abu al-Raddad al-Laythi and said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah Almighty said: I am Allah, I am al-Rahman. I created al-rahim (the tie of kinship) and derived a branch for it from My name. So whoever joins it, I will join him (with My mercy), and whoever severs it, I will cut him off."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Al-rahim (the tie of kinship) is a branch from Allah (he (peace and blessings be upon him) meant a branch derived from Allah's name 'al-Rahman'). So whoever joins it, Allah will join him (with His mercy), and whoever severs it, Allah will cut him off."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he narrated it as a saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Those who show mercy, al-Rahman shows mercy to them. Show mercy to those on the earth, and the One in the heaven will show mercy to you. The tie of kinship (al-rahim) is a branch from al-Rahman; so whoever joins it, Allah will join him, and whoever severs it, Allah will cut him off." Imam al-Hakim says: All of these chains are sahih (authentic). I have examined their chains exhaustively, mentioning the Companions, so that no one imagines that the two Shaykhs did not leave out any authentic hadith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting in a red leather tent with about forty men. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(The doors of conquest) will be opened for you; you will be helped and you will gain spoils. So whoever of you reaches that time, let him fear Allah, enjoin what is good, forbid what is evil, and maintain ties of kinship. And the example of one who helps his people in a wrongful matter is like a camel that is falling (into a well) and he is pulling it by its tail (meaning that he cannot save it from destruction)." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Al-Qasim bin Mukhawwal al-Bahzi narrates from his father that he said: O Messenger of Allah! Give me some advice. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Establish the prayer, pay the zakah, fast in Ramadan, perform Hajj of the House and Umrah, be kind to your parents, maintain ties of kinship, honour the guest, enjoin what is good, forbid what is evil, and stay with the truth wherever it is." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration through the Shaykhs of Yemen, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived (in Madinah), the people rushed towards him, and it was said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has arrived. I too went with the people to see him (peace and blessings be upon him). When I looked carefully at the blessed face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I recognised that this face could not be the face of a liar. The very first thing he (peace and blessings be upon him) said was: "O people! Spread the greeting of peace, feed others, maintain ties of kinship, and pray at night while people are asleep; you will enter Paradise in peace." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.