Can a husband transfer his property to his wife and his children by a way of oral gift in the prsence of relatives and friends under muslim personal law.If so,is it accepted in Indian court?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

It is the right of the husband to gift orally his wife and children whatever he wishes of his money and property while he is in good health and sound mind. The validity of the gift does not depend on writing it and authenticating it by the authorities. Besides, the gift is owned once it is legally possessed. Therefore, if the one to whom the gift was given possesses it Islamically before the death of the donor, then it becomes an effective and valid gift as we clarified in Fatwa 98680.

Nonetheless, having witnesses about it is a good thing as a way of preserving rights and avoiding disputes, but this is not an obligation. Also, it is desirable to authenticate it.

It should be noted that according to the most preponderant opinion, it is an obligation to be just between the children when gifting them, so it is not permissible to favor any of them over others without a necessity as we clarified in Fatwa 94685.

As regards whether or not this would be accepted by the Indian courts, then this is something we are not aware of. It should be noted that the Muslims should avoid taking their cases to non-Islamic courts, and they should be keen on taking their cases to Islamic institutions that are specialized in looking into personal matters of the Muslims in non-Muslim countries. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 141999.

Allaah Knows best.