Chapter on the dislike of a person taking back a gift that he has not yet delivered to the recipient.

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on the dislike of a person taking back a gift that he has not yet 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."
And 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 كمثل الكلب يقيء ثم يعود في قيئه فيأكله

Sahih Muslim 1622a

And 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 donated a horse in the way of Allah. Its new possessor did not treat it properly. I made my mind to buy it because I thought that he would sell it at a cheap price (now that it became weak and emaciated). I asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about it, whereupon 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."

حملت على فرس في سبيل فأضاعه الذي كان عنده فأردت أن أشتريه وظننت أنه يبيعه برخص فسألت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال 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 taking back a gift. That is, if you give a person something for free, as a voluntary gift from yourself, 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 takes back his gift to a dog that vomits up what is in its stomach... and then goes back to eat it. This is a ugly comparison; the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) compared the one who takes back his gift to this in order to disparage it and deter people from it. There is no difference between the person to whom you gave the gift being a relative or a stranger. If you gave your brother 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, and no one is willing to be a dog. Likewise, if a man gave 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. However, the reverse is the case: if a man gave his son something, there is no harm in 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 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 mounted a horse in the cause of Allah, meaning he gave a man a horse to fight on. The man neglected it and let it go to waste. '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, because what a person gives for the sake of Allah, he does not take back. For this reason, he said: So 'Umar 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 to him, he has the right to take it back. However, he should fulfill his promise, because the one who does not fulfill what he promised has a characteristic of hypocrisy. He has a characteristic of hypocrisy. And it is not permissible for a person to adorn himself with the characteristics of hypocrites. And success is from Allah.