❖ Can a Father Take Back a Gift Given to His Child?
By: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
Ruling
Yes — a father has the right to take back a gift (ʿaṭiyyah or hadiyyah) he has given to his child.
Evidence from Ḥadīth
Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) narrated that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
“لَا يَحِلُّ لِلرَّجُلِ أَنْ يُعْطِيَ العَطِيَّةَ فَيَرْجِعَ فِيهَا، إِلَّا الوَالِدَ فِيمَا يُعْطِي وَلَدَهُ“
“It is not permissible for a man to give a gift and then take it back, except a father regarding what he gives his child.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 3023; Abū Dāwūd: 3539; al-Tirmidhī: 2133; al-Nasāʾī: 3703; Ibn Mājah: 2377; Ibn Ḥibbān: 5101; al-Ḥākim: 2/46)
A Weak Report
The narration stating “A gift given to a blood-relative (dhī maḥram) should not be taken back” is weak and cannot be used as proof.
(al-Ḥākim: 2/52; al-Dāraquṭnī: 3/44; Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/70)
Requirement of Fairness Among Children
Ḥadīth Evidence
Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr (رضي الله عنه) said:
His father brought him to the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and said: “I have given my son a slave as a gift.” The Prophet ﷺ asked: “Have you given a similar gift to all your children?” He replied: “No.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “Then take it back.”
In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ أَوْلَادِكُمْ“
“Fear Allāh and be just among your children.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2586; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1623; al-Muwaṭṭaʾ: 2/751; al-Tirmidhī: 1367; Ibn Mājah: 2376)
In yet another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said three times:
“اعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ أَبْنَائِكُمْ“
“Be just among your children.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 3028; al-Nasāʾī: 6/262; Musnad Aḥmad: 4/275)
Scholarly Views
- Majority (Jumhūr): Equal treatment among children in gifts is recommended (mustaḥabb). They view the command in the ḥadīth as for recommendation, not obligation, and have offered detailed explanations.
- Fatḥ al-Bārī: 5/531
- Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/65
- Abū Ḥanīfah & al-Shāfiʿī: Unequal gifting is disliked (makrūh), but if done, it is valid. (Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 8/297)
- Stronger Opinion (Rājiḥ): The command is for obligation (wujūb), because there is no valid evidence to divert it to recommendation.
- Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Nothing can be more apparent or stronger in analogy than what is stated in the ḥadīth.” (Aʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 2/329)
- Imām al-Nawawī said: “If a father gives to some of his children and not equally to all, the gift is invalid until equality is maintained.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, before ḥadīth no. 2586)
Ruling on Returning Gifts Without Sharʿī Cause
Returning a gift without Sharʿī cause is disliked (makrūh). The Prophet ﷺ accepted gifts from Muslims and even non-Muslims, as established in authentic aḥādīth.
Sharʿī obstacles include:
- Gifts intended as bribes to those in authority.
- Gifts from unlawful earnings (e.g., fortune-telling fees, earnings of a prostitute, or proceeds from ḥarām sources).
(al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/349)
