✍ Written by: Hafiz Muti'ullah
My father, Yazid, set aside some dinars to give in charity and placed them with a man in the mosque. I came and took them and brought them to him. He said: 'By Allah, I did not intend them for you.' I then took the matter to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he said: 'O Yazid! For you is the reward of your intention, and O Ma'n! For you is what you have taken.'
(Narrated by Bukhari)
➋ It is permissible to appoint someone as an agent to distribute charity, especially in voluntary (nafl) charity, which is often done discreetly.
➌ It is permissible for a father and son to take a dispute to a judge or a scholar without it being considered disobedience to the father.
➍ It is permissible to give voluntary charity to one's own children.
➎ The one giving charity will receive the reward according to his intention, even if the charity does not reach the initially intended recipient.
➏ After giving away something in charity, a father cannot reclaim it from his son, although a gift (hiba) under other conditions can be revoked.
Hadith Authentication References:
Evidence from Hadith
❀ Narrated by Abu Yazid Ma'n bin Yazid bin Al-Akhnas (رضي الله عنهم) — and he, his father, and his grandfather were all Companions — he said:My father, Yazid, set aside some dinars to give in charity and placed them with a man in the mosque. I came and took them and brought them to him. He said: 'By Allah, I did not intend them for you.' I then took the matter to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he said: 'O Yazid! For you is the reward of your intention, and O Ma'n! For you is what you have taken.'
(Narrated by Bukhari)
Authentication of the Hadith
- Narrated by: Bukhari (291/3 – Fath al-Bari)
Explanation of Vocabulary
- فجئت فأخذتها: I came and took them — meaning he approached the man to whom his father had entrusted the dinars, and took them with his permission, not forcibly.
- فأتيته: I came to him — meaning he brought the dinars to his father.
- فخاصمته: I disputed with him — meaning he brought the matter for adjudication.
- لك ما نويت: For you is the reward of your intention — addressed to the father, meaning his reward is intact because his intention was to give to a needy person, and even though it reached his son, it does not nullify the reward.
- لك ما أخذت: For you is what you have taken — addressed to the son, meaning the property he took legally became his.
Fiqh (Understanding) of the Hadith
➊ It is permissible to express Allah’s blessings openly.➋ It is permissible to appoint someone as an agent to distribute charity, especially in voluntary (nafl) charity, which is often done discreetly.
➌ It is permissible for a father and son to take a dispute to a judge or a scholar without it being considered disobedience to the father.
➍ It is permissible to give voluntary charity to one's own children.
➎ The one giving charity will receive the reward according to his intention, even if the charity does not reach the initially intended recipient.
➏ After giving away something in charity, a father cannot reclaim it from his son, although a gift (hiba) under other conditions can be revoked.
Hadith Authentication References:
- Sahih Bukhari 291/3 (Fath al-Bari)
