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Fatwa CenterGrandfather giving gift to teenage grandson apart from his other descendants
Question
My Grandfather gifted a property to me when I was 14 years old, and my father was also alive. It is my house and my father was willing to sell the house but my grandfather gifted it to me. Now my grandfather and father are not alive. I want to know whether according to Islamic law my grandfather could gift his property to me and whether I could receive when I was 14 yrs old. My grandfather had a lot of property and he had 3 sons and when he gifted this property to me it constituted about 15% of his wealth.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
If your grandfather offered you this property as a gift and you accepted it and took possession of it before your grandfather’s death, then it became your personal property. If you had reached puberty (when you accepted and took possession of the gift), then there is no doubt that it was a valid acceptance of a gift. However, if this was not the case, then scholars held different opinions regarding the validity of accepting and taking possession of such a gift. The majority of the scholars maintained that it is invalid for you (as a minor) to possess such a gift in this case; the Hanafis, on the other hand, held that it is valid. The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Fiqh reads, "...The Shaafiʻis and Hanbalis held that the acceptance and taking possession of a gift is only valid when done by a person who is legally entitled to dispose of a property, namely an adult, sane person whose legal competence is not limited."
The Hanafi book Al-Lubaab fi Sharh Al-Kitaab reads, "It is permissible for the young boy to accept and take possession of a gift if he has reached the age of distinction because he would choose that which is beneficial for him just as an adult person would do in a similar situation..."
If we assume that your acceptance and taking possession of the gift was invalid, then your father’s acceptance and taking possession of it on your behalf was sufficient, if he had done so. Ad-Dardeer 
wrote, "It is valid for a grantor to take possession of a gift he (the grantor) offered to a beneficiary who is under his (the grantor's) guardianship be it a young child, a fool, or an insane person and whether the grantor is the father of the beneficiary or otherwise because he is entitled to accept and take possession of such a gift on behalf of the beneficiary..." [Ash-Sharh As-Sagheer]
Ash-Shaafiʻi wrote, "It has been narrated that ʻUthmaan held that the father is entitled to take possession of a gift granted to his children as long as they are young." [Al-Umm]
On the other hand, the grandfather bears no sin for favoring you with such a gift according to the preponderant view in this regard because given the presence of the grandfather’s direct descendants (sons and daughters), the grandson is not an heir. It is permissible for the grandfather to gift him whatever he wishes of his wealth. This is evidenced by the fact that the grandson does not inherit from his grandfather in this case. Moreover, it is valid for the grandfather to make a bequest in favor of his grandson in this case and such a bequest is binding if the grandfather dies during the lifetime of his sons in whose presence the grandson is not entitled to inherit from him.
The obligation of observing equality among one’s children in terms of offering gifts is particularly for descendants of the same level, i.e. the individual’s immediate descendants (children), and in this case the grandchildren are not included. The relevant hadeeth narrated by An-Nuʻmaan 
in this regard, which is the main evidence regarding the obligation of maintaining equality among children as far as offering gifts is concerned, does not include grandchildren.
Al-Furooʻ reads, "It is incumbent on the parent to maintain equality among children in terms of offering gifts; it is said that this is particularly for one’s direct descendants. Al-Haarithi asserted that this ruling does not apply to grandchildren; the son's or daughters' children."
Ibn Qudaamah said, "The person is not obliged to observe equality among his other relatives as far as offering gifts is concerned ..." [Al-Mughni]
Allaah knows best.
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