❖ If a Gift (Hibah) Is Without Exchange, Its Ruling in All Past Cases Is Like That of a Present (Hadiyyah)
By: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
The word هبة is derived from وَهَبَ يَهِبُ (from the pattern of ḍaraba) and means “to give a gift or grant.”
To give any property or right to someone without compensation (ʿiwaḍ).
A hadiyyah (present) also falls under this meaning.
The following evidences establish its permissibility:
① ﴿فَإِن طِبْنَ لَكُمْ عَن شَيْءٍ مِّنْهُ نَفْسًا فَكُلُوهُ هَنِيئًا مَّرِيئًا﴾ (an-Nisāʾ: 4)
“If they, of their own pleasure, remit to you part of it, then enjoy it with satisfaction and ease.”
② ﴿وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ﴾ (al-Baqarah: 177)
“And gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer…”
③ “تَهَادَوْا تَحَابُّوا”
“Give gifts to one another and you will love one another.”
(Muwaṭṭaʾ, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ; al-Adab al-Mufrad of al-Bukhārī: 594)
④ “لَا تَحْقِرَنَّ جَارَةٌ أَنْ تُهْدِيَ لِجَارَتِهَا وَلَوْ فِرْسِنَ شَاةٍ”
“Let no neighbor belittle giving a gift to her neighbor, even if it is only the hoof of a sheep.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2556, Kitāb al-Hibah wa Faḍlihā)
From a linguistic and Sharʿī perspective, a hibah is the same as a hadiyyah.
Past rulings (al-muʿāmalāt al-māḍiyah) relevant to this include:
Summary:
① Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated: The Prophet ﷺ said:
“ʿUmrā is permissible.”
In Muslim’s wording:
“ʿUmrā is inheritance for its people.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2626; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1625; Abū Dāwūd: 3548; al-Nasāʾī: 6/277; Musnad Aḥmad: 2/429)
② “The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ decreed ʿUmrā for the one to whom it was granted.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2625)
③ Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) narrated: The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Do not make ʿUmrā and do not make Ruqbā. Whoever makes ʿUmrā or Ruqbā, it belongs to the one to whom it is given during his life and after his death (i.e., his heirs inherit it).”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Nasāʾī: 3493; Musnad Aḥmad: 2/26)
Ruqbā with the condition of “waiting for the other’s death so it returns to the giver” is not permissible because such wording is not proven from the Prophet ﷺ.
Permissible Ruqbā is when it is in the meaning of ʿUmrā — as shown in the evidences above.
① Unconditionally gifting for a lifetime.
② Gifting with the condition of the recipient’s life.
③ Saying: “It is for you, and after you, for your heirs.” — This is the view of the majority and the strongest opinion.
References: Fatḥ al-Bārī: 5/282; Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/74; Qafw al-Athar: 3/1139
By: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
Linguistic Definition
The word هبة is derived from وَهَبَ يَهِبُ (from the pattern of ḍaraba) and means “to give a gift or grant.”
- Lisān al-ʿArab: 15/411
- al-Munjid: p. 988
Technical Definition
To give any property or right to someone without compensation (ʿiwaḍ).
A hadiyyah (present) also falls under this meaning.
- al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu: 5/3981
Legitimacy of Hibah
The following evidences establish its permissibility:
① ﴿فَإِن طِبْنَ لَكُمْ عَن شَيْءٍ مِّنْهُ نَفْسًا فَكُلُوهُ هَنِيئًا مَّرِيئًا﴾ (an-Nisāʾ: 4)
“If they, of their own pleasure, remit to you part of it, then enjoy it with satisfaction and ease.”
② ﴿وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ﴾ (al-Baqarah: 177)
“And gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer…”
③ “تَهَادَوْا تَحَابُّوا”
“Give gifts to one another and you will love one another.”
(Muwaṭṭaʾ, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ; al-Adab al-Mufrad of al-Bukhārī: 594)
④ “لَا تَحْقِرَنَّ جَارَةٌ أَنْ تُهْدِيَ لِجَارَتِهَا وَلَوْ فِرْسِنَ شَاةٍ”
“Let no neighbor belittle giving a gift to her neighbor, even if it is only the hoof of a sheep.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2556, Kitāb al-Hibah wa Faḍlihā)
Relation Between Hibah and Hadiyyah
From a linguistic and Sharʿī perspective, a hibah is the same as a hadiyyah.
Past rulings (al-muʿāmalāt al-māḍiyah) relevant to this include:
- Accepting a gift from a non-Muslim
- Not taking back a gift once given
- Observing fairness between children in giving
- Not reclaiming a gift without Sharʿī justification
Hibah With or Without Compensation
- If without exchange, it is a hadiyyah and carries the same rulings as past hadiyyah cases.
- If with exchange, it is a sale (bayʿ) and is treated as such.
- In a sale, mutual consent and compensation exist, and this applies to hibah with exchange (hibah bi’l-ʿiwaḍ) if the exchange is given at the time of the gift.
- If no exchange is given, it remains a hadiyyah.
Summary:
- Hibah without exchange: ruled as a hadiyyah.
- Hibah with exchange: ruled as a sale.
- (al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/350)
ʿUmrā and Ruqbā
Definitions
- ʿUmrā: From the word ʿumr (life), meaning something given for the lifetime of the recipient.
- Example in Jāhiliyyah: “I have permitted it to you for the duration of your life,” hence it was called “ʿUmrā for so-and-so.”
- Ruqbā: From murāqabah (watching), because each party waits for the other to die so that the item returns to the survivor.
- Example: A person gifts something on the condition that “If you die first, it returns to me; if I die first, it remains yours.”
Evidences
① Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated: The Prophet ﷺ said:
“ʿUmrā is permissible.”
In Muslim’s wording:
“ʿUmrā is inheritance for its people.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2626; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1625; Abū Dāwūd: 3548; al-Nasāʾī: 6/277; Musnad Aḥmad: 2/429)
② “The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ decreed ʿUmrā for the one to whom it was granted.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2625)
③ Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) narrated: The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Do not make ʿUmrā and do not make Ruqbā. Whoever makes ʿUmrā or Ruqbā, it belongs to the one to whom it is given during his life and after his death (i.e., his heirs inherit it).”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Nasāʾī: 3493; Musnad Aḥmad: 2/26)
Ruling on Ruqbā
Ruqbā with the condition of “waiting for the other’s death so it returns to the giver” is not permissible because such wording is not proven from the Prophet ﷺ.
Permissible Ruqbā is when it is in the meaning of ʿUmrā — as shown in the evidences above.
Three Valid Forms of ʿUmrā
① Unconditionally gifting for a lifetime.
② Gifting with the condition of the recipient’s life.
③ Saying: “It is for you, and after you, for your heirs.” — This is the view of the majority and the strongest opinion.
References: Fatḥ al-Bārī: 5/282; Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/74; Qafw al-Athar: 3/1139
