Chapter on Gifts Given in Expectation of Recompense or Consideration

According to Mālik and his colleagues, a compensatory gift (hiba li’l-thawāb) is permissible, but it is recognized only in two circumstances: when a poor person gives to a rich person, or when one wealthy person gives to another wealthy person. A gift from a wealthy person to a poor person is not treated as a compensatory gift.

Such a gift does not require actual transfer of possession, and if the donor dies before handing it over, the gift remains valid and binding. The recipient may accept or refuse it; if he accepts, he still retains the option either to give recompense or to return the gift. Should he recompense the donor with the item’s full market value, the donor is obliged to accept that value, whether he wishes to or not. If the recipient chooses instead to return the gift, the transaction is annulled. If the object has perished while with the recipient, or its condition has altered—whether by being built upon or by diminution—he must pay its value, unless the donor is content with less.

If someone gives an unrestricted gift and later claims that he intended it to be compensatory, the matter is examined in light of common custom. If people of his social standing customarily seek recompense for such gifts, his word is accepted upon his oath; if not, the recipient’s word is accepted upon his oath. Where the issue remains unclear and both interpretations seem equally plausible, the donor’s statement prevails, contingent on his oath.

Anyone who gives a gift purely for the sake of Allah or to maintain family ties is entitled to no recompense at all.