I heard from al-Mustafa (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: "You and your wealth belong to your father." I have also heard that there is weakness in this hadith. Is this correct?
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The questioner : I heard a hadith from al-Mustafa (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: I have also heard that there is weakness in this hadith. Is this correct, O honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh : This hadith is authentic; it is not weak, and it serves as a proof. The meaning is that a person and his wealth belong to his father. This implies that if a person has wealth, his father has the right to be generous with that wealth and to take from it whatever he wishes, but with a condition, or rather, with conditions:
The first condition is that his taking it must not cause harm to the son. If taking it causes harm, such as taking the blanket the son uses to cover himself from the cold, or taking the food the son needs to satisfy his hunger, then that is not permissible. It is not permissible for the father.
Likewise, it is required that the son’s need not be attached to it. If the son has a slave woman whom he uses for his private needs, it is not permissible for the father to take her because the son’s need is attached to her. Similarly, if the son has a car that he needs for his commute and does not have the money to buy a replacement, the father is not allowed to take it in this situation.
The scholars said that the third condition is that he must not take from one of his sons to give to another son, because that leads to enmity between the sons, and because it involves preferring some sons over others if the second son is not in need. If the second son is in need, then the father giving to one of his sons for his need, while his brothers who are not in need are not given, is not a preference but is obligatory upon him.
In any case, this hadith is a proof that the scholars acted upon and cited as evidence, but it is conditional upon what we have mentioned. A person does not have the right to take from his son’s wealth what harms him, nor does he have the right to take from his son’s wealth what the son needs, nor does he have the right to take from his son’s wealth to give to another son. And Allah knows best.
You and your wealth belong to your father
أنت ومالك لأبيكThe Shaykh : This hadith is authentic; it is not weak, and it serves as a proof. The meaning is that a person and his wealth belong to his father. This implies that if a person has wealth, his father has the right to be generous with that wealth and to take from it whatever he wishes, but with a condition, or rather, with conditions:
The first condition is that his taking it must not cause harm to the son. If taking it causes harm, such as taking the blanket the son uses to cover himself from the cold, or taking the food the son needs to satisfy his hunger, then that is not permissible. It is not permissible for the father.
Likewise, it is required that the son’s need not be attached to it. If the son has a slave woman whom he uses for his private needs, it is not permissible for the father to take her because the son’s need is attached to her. Similarly, if the son has a car that he needs for his commute and does not have the money to buy a replacement, the father is not allowed to take it in this situation.
The scholars said that the third condition is that he must not take from one of his sons to give to another son, because that leads to enmity between the sons, and because it involves preferring some sons over others if the second son is not in need. If the second son is in need, then the father giving to one of his sons for his need, while his brothers who are not in need are not given, is not a preference but is obligatory upon him.
In any case, this hadith is a proof that the scholars acted upon and cited as evidence, but it is conditional upon what we have mentioned. A person does not have the right to take from his son’s wealth what harms him, nor does he have the right to take from his son’s wealth what the son needs, nor does he have the right to take from his son’s wealth to give to another son. And Allah knows best.