During the period of the peace treaty of Quraish with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), my mother, accompanied by her father, came to visit me, and she was a pagan. I consulted Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! My mother has come to me and she desires to receive a reward from me, shall I keep good relation with her?" He said, "Yes, keep good relation with her."
Jizyah and Mawaada'ah - Sahih al-Bukhari 3183
This narration from Asma' bint Abi Bakr demonstrates the Islamic principle of maintaining family ties even with non-Muslim relatives. The Prophet's permission to maintain good relations with her pagan mother establishes that kinship obligations transcend religious differences.
Scholarly Commentary
The context reveals this occurred during the Hudaybiyyah treaty period, when Muslims and Quraysh pagans had temporary peace. Asma's mother came visiting while still adhering to polytheism.
Classical scholars emphasize that birr al-walidayn (kindness to parents) remains obligatory even when parents are non-Muslims, provided this doesn't involve supporting them in disbelief or sinful acts.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani notes in Fath al-Bari that the Prophet's emphatic "Yes" indicates the importance of this obligation, showing that maintaining family ties can be a means of guiding non-Muslims to Islam through exemplary conduct.
Legal Rulings Derived
Permissibility of spending on non-Muslim parents when they are in need.
Maintaining communication and visitation with non-Muslim relatives is encouraged in Islam.
The reward mentioned refers to both material gifts and emotional kindness, as interpreted by classical commentators like al-Qurtubi.