How authentic is the Hadeeth which says: "You and your property belong to your father"? What is the context that surrounded it? Is it confined to that incident or is it general for the Ummah as a whole?

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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

The Hadeeth which says: "You and your property belong to your father," [Ahmad and Ibn Maajah], is strengthened and supported by other narrations, such as the Hadeeth which was narrated by Al-Haakim and Ibn Hibaan on the authority of ‘Aa’ishah . Ash-Shawkaani mentioned that Al-Haakim narrated the same wording of Ahmad and it was graded as Saheeh by Abu Haakim and Abu Zur‘ah. Al-Albaani also graded it as Saheeh.

As for the incident that surrounded the Hadeeth, Jaabir narrated that a man came to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, telling him that he had property and children; however his father wanted to take his money. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told him that his father had the right to take from that property. Ahmad and Abu Daawood narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the most blessed earning a man can make is what he earns from the work of his hands. A man’s son is also considered what he earns with his hands, so he is allowed to take from his son's property.  

Ash-Shawkaani pointed out that a father shares the property of his son; therefore it is permissible for him to take from it, whether his son gives him permission to do so or not. It is also permissible for him to dispose of his son’s property as if it were his own, as long as he is in need and is not extravagant or mentally incompetent.

Ash-Shawkaani quoted the scholars' opinion that it is permissible for a father to dispose of his son’s property but he does not own it. His son owns it and his son is the one who should pay its due Zakah and whose heirs inherit it.