Explanation of Riyad al-Saliheen-85a

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The chapter on the dislike of a person returning to a gift that he has not delivered to the recipient. It was narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

He who takes back his present is like a dog that swallows back its vomit.

الذي يعود في هبته كالكلب يرجع في قيئه

Sahih al-Bukhari 2622

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. In another narration:

He who gets back his charity is like a dog which vomits and then returns to that and eats it.

مثل الذي يرجع في صدقته كمقل الكلب يقيء ثم يعود في قيئه فيأكله

Riyad as-Salihin 1612

In another narration:

The one who takes back his gift is like the one who goes back to his vomit.

العائد في هبته كالعائد في قيئه

Sunan Ibn Majah 2385Sahih (Darussalam)

And it was narrated from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: 'I gave a horse in the cause of Allah, and the one who had it wasted it. I wanted to buy it, thinking that he would sell it cheaply. So I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said:

"Do not buy it and do not get back your charity, for one who gets back the charity is like a dog that eats its own vomit."

لا تشتره ولا تعد في صدقتك وإن أعطاكه بدرهم فإن العائد في صدقته كالعائد في قيئه

Riyad as-Salihin 1613

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim."

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
In this chapter, the author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned what indicates the prohibition of returning to a gift. That is, if you give a person something for free, as a voluntary act from your side, it is not permissible for you to take it back, whether it is small or large. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) compared the one who returns to his gift to a dog that vomits what is in its stomach... and then returns to eat it. This is a ugly comparison. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) compared the one who returns to his gift to this in order to show its ugliness and to deter people from it. There is no difference between the person to whom you gave the gift being one of your relatives or one of your distant relations. If you give your brother something, such as a watch, a pen, a car, or a house, it is not permissible for you to take it back, unless you are willing to be a dog for yourself, and no one is willing to be a dog for himself. Likewise, if a man gives his father something, he does not take it back. For example, a rich man whose father is poor gives him a house; it is not permissible for him to take back the gift, even if it is his father. As for the reverse, if a man gives his son something, there is no harm in him taking it back, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Because the father has the right to take from his son's wealth what he has not given to him, as long as it does not harm him. Then he also mentioned the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he gave a horse in the cause of Allah, meaning he gave a man a horse to fight on. The man wasted it and neglected it. 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) thought that he would sell it cheaply and that he was not able to bear its expenses. So he mentioned this to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and he said: Because you gave it for the sake of Allah, and a person cannot buy back his charity. This is because what a person gives for the sake of Allah, he does not return to it. For this reason, he said: So he left it. This is if the recipient has taken possession of the gift. As for before he takes possession of it, it is not forbidden for him to take it back, but he should fulfill his promise. For example, if a person says to another, "I will give you a watch," but he has not delivered it, he has the right to take it back. But he should fulfill his promise, because the one who does not fulfill what he promised has a characteristic of the characteristics of hypocrisy. He has a characteristic of the characteristics of hypocrisy. And it is not permissible for a person to adorn himself with the characteristics of hypocrites. And success is from Allah.