ICĀRA SECTION · 83 – RETURNING FROM A GIFT
3538 – It is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The one who returns from his gift is like one who eats his own vomit.” [300] In the narration of Hammām: He said that Qatāda said: We only know vomit to be forbidden.
3539 – It is narrated from Ibn ʿUmar and Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “It is not permissible for a person to make a favor or a gift and then take it back, except for a father who may take back what he has given to his child. The one who makes a favor and then takes it back is like a dog who eats something, becomes full, vomits, and then eats its own vomit again.” [301]
3540 – It is narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The one who asks for what he has given as a gift to be returned is like a dog who vomits and then eats its own vomit. When the giver asks for his gift to be returned, he should be restrained, what he wants should be explained to him, and then the thing he gave as a gift should be returned to him.”
EXPLANATION
Just as it is reprehensible for a person to remind others of the good he has done, so too is the attitude of one who returns from a gift equally ugly. When the recipient of a gift receives it, he rejoices greatly; but when the gift is demanded back from him, he is grieved to the same extent. Therefore, the one who wishes to give a gift should think carefully beforehand, and only then give it; and once he has given it, he should not take it back. Nevertheless, if someone does take back his gift, it is permissible with severe reprehensibility (karāhat taḥrīmiyya). However, not every gift may be taken back. There are explanations in our books of jurisprudence (fiqh) regarding this.