A Fiqh Note on Gifts and Donations in Islam

Prof MTE Kahn

[Quran.2:264-265] "O you who believe, do not nullify your acts of charity by
boasting about doing people a favour and by causing them hurt, like the one who
spends his wealth to show off before people and does not believe in Allah and in
the Last Day. So, his example is like a rock on which there is dust, then a heavy
rain came over it and left it barren. They have no ability to gain anything out of
what they have done, and Allah does not give guidance to the people who
disbelieve. And the likeness of those who spend their wealth seeking Allah's
Pleasure while they in their own selves are sure and certain that Allah will reward
them (for their spending in His Cause), is the likeness of a garden on a height;
heavy rain falls on it and it doubles its yield of harvest. And if it does not receive
heavy rain, light rain suffices it. And Allah is All-Seer of (knows well) what you
do.".

A gift is a donation of some kind, usually a specific quantity of property given to

someone. The person who may gift should be sane and in Shariah, legally
qualified to take care of such property. It is well known that the Messenger of
Allah, salalhu alayhi wasallam, used to accept and gave gifts to his Sahabah. It is
an act from amongst the virtuous acts of the Sunnah.

Shayk Salih Fawzan al Fawzan, quotes the sayings of the Messenger of Allah, in
his book "Summary of Jurisprudence" These Hadiths are also found in the
collections of Bukhari, Ahmad, Malik and Tirmidhi:

" Give presents to one another for a present removes rancour"

and also :

"Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "The Messenger of Allah used to
accept gifts and gave something in return."

The Fiqh ruling concerning gifts is that once given, AND claimed and accepted, it
now belongs to the new owner and CANNOT be claimed back.

Gifts are from amongst the recommended acts in a good social nexus amongst
the Muslims

In the Risala ibn Abi Zayd Qayrawani states that:

"A gift, alms, or pious endowment are incomplete unless they are taken over by
those to whom they are given. If the benefactor should die before such formal
taking over is effected, they shall be treated as part of the legacy, except where
these are taken over while the deceased is sick. Under such a circumstance they
can be executed so long as they do not exceed one-third of the legacy, and if the
beneficiaries are not heirs of the legacy.
Besides, it is reprehensible for a father to give some of his children all his
property. However, he is permitted to give away some of it. Also a man is
permitted to give away to poor people the whole of his property. A man cannot
withdraw alms after giving it away. Nor can the alms go back to him except
through inheritance. "

The one exception in gifts is that it is permissible for the giver to take it back if the
claim has not been positively accepted. This is recorded by Ayesha radiallau
anha, when she recalled the incident in which her father, Abu Bakr Siddiq, gave
her 20 wasqs of date trees. When Abu Bakr was in his dying illness he said that
he gave her this gift, but since she did not renew them or possessed them, they
still belonged to him and now becomes a property to be dealt with as inheritance
amongst all the heirs, to be divided according to the Book of Allah.

Summary
Normally a gift once given cannot be taken back, unless it was not positively
claimed or acknowledged. However it is invalid to make the gift dependent on
future conditions. There is no such thing as a temporary gift.
It is generally prohibited to take the gift back except for a parent to his child, but
not permissible take from the property of his child in a way that harms the child.
It is permissible for a creditor to give up the debt as a gift to the debtor, but not
permissible for a son to claim a debt from his father.
It is perfectly permissible to stipulate to give a gift after one dies, but not
permissible to give gifts only to some of one’s own children and not to others. It is
prohibited to be a witness to unjust gifts.
A gift should not be rejected even if it is very humble or little and it is an act of
Sunnah to give something back in return.

References:

Malik ibn Anas, Muwatta, Bewley translation (2004), Madinah Press, Kuala
Lumpur
Shafi Usmani, Ma'rifatul Quran, online, http://www.classicalislamgroup.com/
index.php?view=tafseer/s2-v106to107-3

Al Quran Kareem, translation by Mufti Taqi Usmani, avaialble at

[http://www.central-mosque.com/]

Selections from Hadith in electronic format from Musnad of Ahmad, Sahih

Bukhari, and Sahih Muslim

Shaykh Salih Fawzan, Summary of Juresprudence, book 2, IOU text

Ibn Abi Zayd Qayrawani, Matn- ar-Risala, (1994), translated by Amira Zrein
Matraji, Dar al Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon.