What is the ruling in the Shari'ah regarding a person who differentiates between his children and prefers some over others in gifts?

The questioner : What is the ruling in your view regarding a person who differentiates between his children and prefers some over others in gifts?

The Shaykh : We say that this is forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade it and said to Sa'd ibn Bashir al-Ansari, who had preferred his son Nu'man in a gift: And he said: and he disavowed testifying against him, saying: It is not permissible for anyone to favor some of his children over others; rather, he must be just among them in gifts according to what Allah has apportioned among them, which is to give the male the share of two females. This applies to pure gifts, meaning pure voluntary giving. As for what is given to meet a need, justice among them is to give each one what he needs, whether that is the same amount as what was given to the other, more, or less. For example, if the eldest son needs books for his studies and other study materials, and he is given what he needs to buy the books and other materials, while the others are not given this because they do not need it, that is not favoritism; rather, it is justice. When the others reach the same stage as the first one and need what he needed, he gives them what he gave the first one. Here is an issue: some people marry off their older sons who have reached marriageable age during their lifetime, and then they bequeath to their younger sons who have not yet been married an amount equal to what they gave the older sons. They bequeath to them after their death an amount equal to what they gave the older sons. This is forbidden, and it is not permissible to execute this bequest. What was bequeathed to these younger sons is returned to the estate and divided among the heirs according to the shares of Islamic inheritance law.