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Fatwa CenterFather gave children unequal gifts long before passing away
Question
I am a 37-year-old practicing Muslim from India. Praise be to Allaah, I have one brother and three sisters. About 10 years before his death, my father distributed a number of his houses among his children as a gift. The commercial value of each of the houses was different and not equal. My sisters each received a separate independent house. I and my brother, however, shared a big house. At that time, the share of each brother could have been worth two to three times the value of the share that the sisters received. We all accepted this gift thankfully, with full knowledge of the share received by each one of us. At that time, except for the oldest child (my sister), we were all unmarried. All of us were mature (above 18 years old) though. By the time my father died, about six years ago, by the grace of Allah we had all married and settled, and we all have children. With the passage of time, all of our properties grew in value, although the value of the house given to us, brothers, increased more than that of the others. About two years ago, after his death, the sisters starting accusing us of unlawfully taken a bigger share by means of the gift that my father had given us when he was alive. They claim that the property needs to be redistributed as per the Islamic Sharia as if it was inheritance and that the gift that was given during his lifetime should be cancelled. Can you please, O noble Sheikh, clarify what the correct Islamic ruling is in this case? What should we do to save ourselves from the Fire on the Day of Judgment regarding this subject.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
According to the consensus of scholars, it is required of the father to establish justice among his children when offering them gifts. The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, "Fear Allah and observe justice among your children." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] The majority of the scholars held that it is recommended for the father to give his children equal gifts, and that it is not obligatory. The Hanbalis, on the other hand, held that it is obligatory and that it is prohibited for him to favor some over the others with gifts for no valid reason.
The scholars held different views as well regarding how to establish justice between male and female children in giving gifts; are they to be given equal gifts or are males given twice the share of females? The famous view of the Hanbalis is that males get twice the share of females.
In any case, the majority of the scholars - except for a few - held that if the father gave his children a gift and did not observe justice and equality among them and then passed away before taking the gift back, the gift is binding and they are not obliged to give it back - if it fulfills the rest of the conditions of a gift. The rest of the children have no right to demand any share in the gift, even according to the preponderant view of the Hanbalis, who held that the parent is obliged to establish justice among his children when offering them gifts.
Ibn Qudaamah 
wrote, "If the father favors some of his children over the others in terms of gift giving or gives some and denies the others and passed away before taking back such gifts, then the beneficiaries of the gifts are entitled to keep them, and the rest of the heirs have no right to revoke the gifts. This is the view narrated on the authority of (Imaam) Ahmad. It is also the view of Maalik, Ash-Shaafi‘i, the Hanafis, and most of the scholars..." [Al-Mughni]
Hence, you should know that the general majority of the scholars held that you are not obliged to return the gifts to the estate, even if you were favored with them without a valid reason. If you willingly choose to return what you were favored with to the estate for the sake of your sisters, then that is more prudent in terms of clearing yourself of your liability and better for fostering the ties of kinship and removing traces of jealousy from the hearts.
Allah knows best.
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