Conditions for Valid Hibah
For a gift to be valid, four conditions must be met:
- The donor is competent: Adult, of sound mind, not under duress
- The object is specific and identifiable: A fraction of undivided property requires special handling
- The donor has ownership and possession: One cannot gift what one doesn’t own
- Delivery (qabd) to the donee: The gift is not complete until physically or constructively delivered
This last point — the requirement of actual delivery — is where the schools diverge most.
Revocability: The Major Disagreement
After delivery:
- Hanafi: A gift is revocable even after delivery, with some exceptions (gifts to spouses, relatives, or in exchange for something)
- Maliki: Irrevocable once delivered, with narrow exceptions for parental gifts to minor children
- Shafi’i: Irrevocable after delivery to non-relatives; revocable by parents to children
- Hanbali: Irrevocable after delivery, with the exception that parents may reclaim gifts to children
Before delivery (qabd): All schools agree the gift is revocable before the donee takes physical possession.
Equality Among Children
The most practically important rule: “Give equally to your children in gifts. If I were to prefer any one, I would prefer the daughters.” (Various narrations)
Majority position: unequal gifts to children are makruh (discouraged) but valid. Hanbali position (following Ibn Hanbal): haram (prohibited) and the preference must be corrected.
Deathbed Gifts
A gift made during the final illness (mard al-mawt, mortal illness) is treated like a bequest: effective only from the one-third of the estate not required for heirs, and subject to the same rules as the will (wasiyya).
See also: Fiqh Al Wasiyyah, Fiqh Al Ahwal Al Shakhsiyya, Fiqh Al Madhab Al Maliki, Fiqh Al Madhab Al Hanbali, Fiqh Adl Wa Ihsan