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Reclaiming one’s charity is unlawful; this is the view adopted by the majority of scholars.
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The Prophet’s use of so hideous and degrading an image is meant to deter people from such behavior.
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The majority of scholars make one exception to the ban on retracting a gift: what a father gives to his child. He may take it back, in accordance with the report narrated by Ahmad and the compilers of the Sunan collections from Ibn ʿUmar and Ibn ʿAbbās, in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “It is not lawful for a Muslim man to give a gift and then take it back—except a father regarding what he gives his child.” Al-Tirmidhi and al-Ḥākim authenticated the narration.
Chapter: Justice between Children in Gifts ⦗1⦘
First ḥadith
Al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr said: “My father donated to me a portion of his wealth. My mother, ʿAmrah bint Rawāḥah, said, ‘I will not be satisfied until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ bears witness to it.’ So my father went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to have him testify to my donation.
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked him, ‘Have you done the same for all your children?’ He replied, ‘No.’ The Prophet said, ‘Fear Allah and be fair to your children.’ My father then went back and revoked that charity.
“In another wording he said, ‘Then do not call me to witness, for I do not testify to injustice.’
“In yet another wording: ‘Have someone else witness this, for I do not testify to wrongdoing.’”
Overall meaning
Al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr al-Anṣārī relates that his father singled him out with a charitable gift from his property. His mother wished to secure the matter by the Prophet’s testimony, so she asked her husband to request the Prophet ﷺ to serve as witness.
When his father brought him to the Prophet ﷺ for that purpose, the Prophet ﷺ asked, “Have you given a similar gift to all of your children?” He answered, “No.” Since favoring some children over others, or preferring one child to the rest, conflicts with God-fearing piety