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

A man gave slaves to his children, then wished to free them. Is it better for him to take them back and free them, or to leave them in his children’s possession?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah. If his children need the slaves, leaving them with his children is better than taking them back and freeing them. Indeed, helping a needy relative is better than freeing a slave, as recorded in the authentic hadith collection:

“Maymūnah, the wife of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), freed a slave woman of hers and mentioned this to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). He said, ‘Had you given her to your maternal uncles, that would have been better for you.’”

If the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) considered giving a slave to a maternal uncle better than freeing that slave, how much more so when the recipients are one’s own needy children?

If, however, the children have no need of some of the slaves, freeing such a slave is a good deed. He may revoke this gift according to al-Shāfiʿī, Ahmad, and others, but he may not revoke it according to Abū Hanīfah. And Allah knows best.