Allah ties the giving to relatives to the seeking of His own face. The relative-rights are an avenue to Allah's pleasure, not just to family-harmony.

Sūrah al-Rūm verse 38 stands as one of the most elevating ethical verses in the Qurʾan, because it explicitly ties horizontal social-obligation (giving to relatives) to vertical spiritual aspiration (seeking Allah's face). Allah said: 'fa-ăti dhă al-qurbă ḥaqqahu wa-l-miskīna wa-bn al-sabīl; dhălika khayrun li-l-ladhīna yurīdūna wajh Allăh; wa-ulăʾika hum al-mufliḥūn'. So give the relative his right, and the needy, and the wayfarer; that is best for those who seek the face of Allah; and those are the successful. Read each clause. 'fa-ăti dhă al-qurbă ḥaqqahu'. So give the relative his right. The verse parallels 17:26 (Day 192) but adds the critical interpretive layer in the next clauses. The relative's ḥaqq is reasserted; it is a right, not optional charity. 'wa-l-miskīna wa-bn al-sabīl'. And the needy, and the wayfarer. The two additional categories of obligation, paralleling 17:26. Together: relatives, the needy, the wayfarer. The three primary recipients of obligatory giving (beyond zakăh fixed-recipients). 'dhălika khayrun li-l-ladhīna yurīdūna wajh Allăh'. That is best for those who seek the face of Allah. Read this carefully. Allah qualifies the giving with the intention. The act of giving to relatives is named as 'best (khayr)' specifically for those who seek wajh Allăh. The implication: the same external act can be done with different intentions, but the verse names the wajh-Allah intention as the one that produces the verse's promised reward. The giving to relatives with mixed motives (showing off, reciprocation-expectation, family-pressure, reputation-building) is not the structural action the verse rewards; the giving with the pure wajh-Allah intention is. The Arabic wajh Allăh is one of the highest concepts in Islamic spirituality. It denotes the divine countenance, the divine pleasure, the seeking-of-Allah-Himself rather than the seeking of any reward. The believer who acts for wajh Allăh has, in the salaf's terminology, attained ikhlăṣ (sincerity). The verse promises this category specifically that their giving is best. 'wa-ulăʾika hum al-mufliḥūn'. And those are the successful. The verse closes with the criterion-of-success language (paralleling al-Ḥashr 59:9 and al-Taghăbun 64:16's verse on protection from shuḥḥ, Day 164). The Qurʾanic falăḥ is reserved for the ultimate success; the verse names those who give to relatives for wajh Allăh as among the mufliḥūn. Now consider the structural integration with the family-cluster. The Family-Verse cluster of Days 184-203 mapped the family-ethics in detail: parents' rights; kinship-ties; in-laws; the eight circles of iḥsān; the inheritance-non-heirs (4:8). Today's verse adds the upward spiritual dimension: the giving is worship; the giver seeks Allah's face; the successful are those who do this. Without this upward dimension, the family-ethics could remain a social-obligation framework; with it, the same actions become worship-investments. The cure has three motions. First, when you give to a relative, the needy, or the wayfarer, recite internally before the giving: 'For the wajh of Allah; not for recognition, not for reciprocation, not for family-pressure'. The pre-giving intention-statement reorients the act. Second, examine your established giving-patterns. Are you giving to particular relatives with mixed motives (you give to the wealthy cousin because you may need a favor; you give to the visible relative because the giving will be noticed; you avoid giving to the difficult relative because the giving will not be appreciated)? Identify the mixed-motive patterns; redirect them toward the pure-intention model. Third, increase giving to those who cannot recognize or reciprocate. The struggling relative who lives in a distant country and will never know the source; the needy through anonymous Islamic charity; the wayfarer who is passing through and will not see you again. The giving to the unable-to-reciprocate is the structural test of pure intention. Pray today: Allāhumma 'ajʿal kulla ʿaṭăʾi l-akhi wa-l-faqīri wa-bn al-sabīli khăliṣan li-wajhika al-karīm. O Allah, make all my giving to brothers, the poor, and the wayfarer purely for Your noble face. The verse's promise is for the wajh-Allah giver; the criterion of success is named.