A man gave charity to his sons and gave nothing to his daughters; is this charity considered valid?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : A man gave charity to his sons and gave nothing to his daughters; is this charity considered valid?
The Shaykh : However, if this charity was to meet the needs of the male children, and the women were self-sufficient, either through their own wealth or the wealth of their husbands if they were married, then there is no harm in that. This is because spending is obligatory upon the father for his children if they are poor and he is wealthy. So if he gives the children from the charity what suffices their needs, there is no harm, because this is spending, and there is no harm in giving it to the needy to the exclusion of others. But if this charity is purely voluntary, it is not permissible for a man to give to the males to the exclusion of the females, nor to prefer some of the males over others. For Bashir ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) gave a gift to his son al-Nu'man ibn Bashir, either a slave boy or an orchard or both. He came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to have him witness it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to him: So Bashir ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) returned what he had given to his son al-Nu'man. This is evidence of the prohibition of preferring some children over others in gifts, except what is to meet a need, as has been mentioned before. But suppose he did not do so, and the father died before he equalized among the children; will this be acceptable to the one who was preferred? The answer is: No, it is not acceptable to him, and he must return it to the estate, and all the heirs must inherit it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : However, if this charity was to meet the needs of the male children, and the women were self-sufficient, either through their own wealth or the wealth of their husbands if they were married, then there is no harm in that. This is because spending is obligatory upon the father for his children if they are poor and he is wealthy. So if he gives the children from the charity what suffices their needs, there is no harm, because this is spending, and there is no harm in giving it to the needy to the exclusion of others. But if this charity is purely voluntary, it is not permissible for a man to give to the males to the exclusion of the females, nor to prefer some of the males over others. For Bashir ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) gave a gift to his son al-Nu'man ibn Bashir, either a slave boy or an orchard or both. He came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to have him witness it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to him:
Do you have sons? He said: Yes. He said: Did you do this for all your children, or a word to that effect? He said: No. He said: Fear Allah and be just among your children.
ألك بنون؟ قال: نعم، قال: أفعلت هذا بكل أولادك، أو كلمةً نحوها؟ قال: لا، قال: اتقوا الله، واعدلوا بين أولادكمThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.