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Fatwa CenterSetting condition for doing favor
Question
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu. If someone asks me for a favor, can I put conditions before doing it?
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, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The question is too general and vague! What kind of favor do you mean exactly? What is the nature of these conditions? It is impossible to give a detailed answer given the wide range of possibilities.
In any case, it was related in the story of Prophet Moosa (Moses) and Al-Khadhr, may Allaah exalt their mention, that Moosa said to Al-Khadhr: {"May I follow you on the condition that you teach me from what you have been taught of sound judgment?"} [Quran 18:66] Al-Khadhr stipulated a condition: {"Then if you follow me, do not ask me about anything until I make to you about it mention."} [Quran 18:70] There is no objection in the Shariah to such a lawful condition; the Shariah of those before us applies to us except if our Shariah said otherwise.
One of the principles of Fiqh reads: "The conditions that do not contradict the Shariah are valid in all contracts." Ibn Taymiyyah 
said, “As long as the stipulated conditions do not contradict the Shariah, they are declared valid, and this applies to all contracts.” [Al-Ba'li, Al-Akhbaar Al-ʻIlmiyyah min Ikhtiyaraat Ibn Taymiyyah]
However, if someone does another person a favor and stipulates that this person returns the favor, this is not considered a pure Hibah (gift/donation); rather, it is closer to a Mu'aawadhah (exchange contract).
One of the famous issues that scholars of Fiqh discussed is Hibat Ath-Thawaab, or the rewarded gift, which is the gift whose giver receives compensation in return for. The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Fiqh reads:
“In principle, a gift is offered without any material compensation in return because it is a donation and not an exchange. However, it is permissible to receive a compensation for it, and it is called Hibat Ath-Thawaab in this case; meaning a rewarded gift. The reward for the gift may be stipulated as a condition in the contract/agreement or not. If it is stipulated in the contract and it is identified, the contract is valid according to the Hanafis, Maalikis, Hanbalis, and according to the preponderant view of the Shaafiʻis based on the meaning. The other view of the Shaafiʻis is that the contract is invalid based on the wording given the contradiction of terms because the term Hibah (gift/donation) entails giving without anything in return. If the contract is valid, it is classified as a sale or a sale-like contract in general.
If a compensation is stipulated in the contract but is not identified, the contract is valid according to the Hanafis and Maalikis. This is also the apparent indication of the statement of Imaam Ahmad and the outweighed view of the Shaafiʻis. The preponderant Shaafiʻi view in this regard and that of the Hanbalis is that such a contract is invalid and that it takes the ruling of a defective sale.” [Summarized]
Allah knows best.
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