Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear pls inform me any hadith for gifts?

Many person says,not to make rasm of giving or receiving gifts.One comes from hajj and we give them any gift and he returns and say that this is rasm.

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

Exchange gifts presents

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Your Question:  pls inform me any hadith for gifts?

The Messenger of Allah (saws) time and time again exhorted and encouraged the believers to give gifts to one another, saying that a gift or a present given removes the rancor, resentment, bitterness, and hatred from the hearts of both…the one who gives the gift and the one to whom the gift is given.

 

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3028        Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The Prophet (saws) said, "Give presents to one another, for a present removes rancor from the breast; and a woman should not despise even the gift of half a sheep's trotter from her neighbour."

 

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.756         Narrated by Azra bin Thabit Al Ansari

When I went to Thumama bin Abdullah, he gave me some perfume and said that Anas would not reject the gifts of perfume. Anas said: ‘The Prophet (saws) used not to reject the gifts of perfume.’

 

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.49 Narrated by Aisha

I said, "O Allah's Messenger (saws)! I have two neighbors! To whom shall I send my gifts?" He (saws) said, "To the one whose gate is nearest to you."

 

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.758         Narrated by Aisha

Allah's Messenger (saws) used to accept gifts and used to give something in return.

 

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3532  Narrated by Abdullah Ibn Umar ;  Abdullah Ibn Abbas

The Prophet (saws) said: ‘It is not lawful for a man to give a gift and then take it back, except a father regarding what he gives his child. One who gives a gift and then takes it back is like a dog which eats and vomits when it is full, then returns to (consume of) its vomit!’

 

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.740         Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (saws) said, "O Muslim women! None of you should look down upon the gift sent by her she-neighbor, even if it were the trotters of the sheep (fleshless part of legs)."

 

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.742         Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (saws) said, "I shall accept the invitation even if I were invited to a meal of a sheep's trotter, and I shall accept the gift even if it were an arm or a trotter of a sheep."

 

Your Question: Many person says,not to make rasm of giving or receiving gifts.One comes from hajj and we give them any gift and he returns and say that this is rasm. 

The Messenger of Allah (saws) absolutely encouraged the believers to give gifts and presents to their loved ones; but to make it a ritual whereby one is expected to bring or receive a gift by appointing a specific date or occasion….such a ritual and ‘rasm’ would indeed become a burden over time, and it is the exchange of such gifts which is indeed discouraged in Islam.

 

If a believer happens to have or buy something, and presents that as a gift to his loved ones, or to his neighbors, etc…..the giving of such gifts is indeed a preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and an absolute encouraged deed in Islam.

 

But to nominate specific days and occasions like birthdays, or anniversaries, or graduations, or births, or marriages, or when moving into a new home or office, or even religious festivals like Eids, or returning from pilgrimage, etc…..to nominate some specific days or occasions where one is expected to bring or receive a gift….such ceremonial giving and receiving of gifts have absolutely no basis and are discouraged in Islam.

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan