Accepting Gifts in Islam and Returning a Present to the Giver

❖ Accepting a Gift and Giving Something in Return to the Giver
By: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī

Linguistic Meaning​

The word هَدِيَّة means “gift” (tuḥfah).

• أهدى يُهدي (form IV) — “to give a gift.”
• تَهَادَى يَتَهَادَى (form VI) — “to exchange gifts with one another.”
  Plural forms: هَدايا, هَداوي, هَداو.
• al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ: p. 1734
• al-Munjid: p. 1004

Technical Definition​

To give someone property or a right without compensation (ʿiwaḍ). Hibah also has the same meaning.

• al-Mughnī: 5/591
• al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu: 5/3981

Prophetic Practice in Accepting and Returning Gifts​

① Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:


"لَوْ دُعِيتُ إِلَى كُرَاعٍ أَوْ ذِرَاعٍ لَأَجَبْتُ، وَلَوْ أُهْدِيَ إِلَيَّ ذِرَاعٌ لَقَبِلْتُ"
“If I were invited to (a meal of) a hoof or a shoulder, I would accept, and if I were given a shoulder as a gift, I would accept it.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5178; Musnad Aḥmad: 3/209; al-Tirmidhī: 1338)


② ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) narrated:


"كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ يَقْبَلُ الهَدِيَّةَ وَيُثِيبُ عَلَيْهَا"
“The Prophet ﷺ would accept a gift and would give something in return for it.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2585; Abū Dāwūd: 3536; al-Tirmidhī: 1953)

Permissibility of Gift Exchange Between Muslims and Non-Muslims​

• Qurʾānic evidence:

﴿وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِي الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا﴾ (Luqmān: 15)
“…but accompany them in this world with kindness.”
This includes treating non-Muslims kindly in permissible worldly matters, such as giving and accepting gifts.

• Prophetic examples:
  
  • Kisrā (Persian king), Qayṣar (Roman emperor), and other rulers sent gifts to the Prophet ﷺ, and he accepted them. (al-Tirmidhī: 1572)
  • Asmāʾ (رضي الله عنها) was told by the Prophet ﷺ to maintain ties with her non-Muslim mother. (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5979)
  • The Prophet ﷺ accepted gifts from various non-Muslims, including rulers, tribes, and even a Jewish woman (though her gift was poisoned). (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2617; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2190)

Apparent Contradiction in Aḥādīth and Its Resolution​

A narration from ʿIyāḍ ibn Ḥimār (رضي الله عنه) mentions the Prophet ﷺ refusing a gift from him while he was still a polytheist, saying:


"إِنِّي نُهِيتُ عَنْ زُبْدِ المُشْرِكِينَ"
“I have been prohibited from accepting the favors of polytheists.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 2630; al-Tirmidhī: 1577)


Reconciliation:

1. The prohibition was later abrogated, as the Prophet ﷺ accepted gifts from other non-Muslims. (Maʿālim al-Sunan)
2. The refusal may have been to encourage the giver toward Islam.
3. The refusal could be due to fear of forming bonds of muwālāt (close alliance).
4. Acceptance was from People of the Book in particular.
5. The prohibition applied to gifts intended exclusively for the Prophet ﷺ, whereas general gifts for the Muslim community were accepted.
   (Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/62)

Stronger opinion: The Prophet ﷺ refused gifts from those seeking mere friendship and alliance without openness to Islam, but accepted gifts from those hoped to be inclined toward Islam. (Fatḥ al-Bārī: 5/551)

Ruling on Taking Back a Gift​

Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) narrated:


"العَائِدُ فِي هِبَتِهِ كَالكَلْبِ يَقِيءُ، ثُمَّ يَعُودُ فِي قَيْئِهِ"
“One who takes back his gift is like a dog that vomits and then returns to it.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2621–2622)


Ḥanafī view: Returning a gift without Sharʿī cause is permissible.
However, this opinion is incorrect as it contradicts the authentic ḥadīth above.