He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

If someone gives another person a gift and then takes it back, is that permissible?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. It is reported in the Sunan collections that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“A donor may not take back his gift, except a father regarding what he has given his child.”

This is the position of al-Shāfiʿī, Mālik, Ahmad and others. An exception applies when the gift is intended to secure something in return: for example, someone gives a man a gift so that he will reciprocate or attend to a need of his. If the recipient does not fulfil the condition established explicitly or by custom, the donor may recover his gift or its equivalent value. And Allah knows best.

He was asked:

A man gives another man something, either as a new gift or by forgiving a debt owed to him. Then hostility arises between them, and he takes back his gift. Is he entitled to do so? If the donor denies having made the gift, and the recipient swears that he owes the donor nothing, does he thereby swear falsely?