Ruling on a man gifting his residence to his wife

3-9-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

Salam waleikum. Husband registered apartment on wife’s name so she could have residency and live in Muslim country. After some time he told her she can to keep it forever for her and her children. Now husband wants to divorce her and take the apartment back. Is she allowed to keep it ? JazakaAllah kheir
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammed sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

The issues in which there is a dispute and conflict between the spouses, giving a fatwa on the matter is not possible; however, it should be referred to the religious judiciary for adjudication, or what takes its place in non-Muslim countries from the authorities and bodies specialized in examining Muslims issues.

In terms of religious ruling in general, we point out the following:

A man gifting his residence to his wife is a matter of disagreement among scholars. Some of them do not permit a man to give his residence to his wife. Some of them stipulate that for its validity, the home should be empty of the belongings of any other than the wife it was gifted to. The Encyclopedia of Jurisprudence states: “According to the Malikis, it is not permissible for the husband to give his house of residence to his wife. The Shafi'is held that the gifted house must be free of the belongings of the one who is not gifted to him. Therefore, if the belongings still occupy it and continue to be in it, the gift is not valid.” [End Of Quote].

If the husband gifts his wife with something, considering the continuity of the marriage, it appears from the words of some scholars that he has the right to take back the gift if the marriage ceases to exist. It was stated in the book The Major Fatwas of Ibn Taymiyyah that the principles of Sharee'ah require: “... that everyone who ... was gifted something to him for a reason, it is validated by its presence and disappears by its termination.” [End Of Quote]

Allah Knows Best.

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