A mother gives her children’s clothes in charity without their knowledge

13-1-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

My mother gives some of our clothes which she does not like in charity without our permission. Is she rewarded for this? Is it considered a type of robbery? May Allaah Reward you.

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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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

If a mother gives some of her children’s clothes in charity knowing that they are contented with that and there is no consequent harm, she will be rewarded for this. Her children will also be rewarded since they are partners in this. In a Hadeeth, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “If a woman gives some of the foodstuff which she has in her husband's house in charity without spoiling it, she will receive the reward for what she has spent, and her husband will receive the reward because of his earning, and the storekeeper will also have a reward similar to it. The reward of one will not decrease the reward of the others.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

But if the mother knows that her children are discontented with that, she should not act in this manner. Nevertheless, parents' behavior in their children's wealth is mostly based on seeking their interest unless proven otherwise. The children should be tolerant regarding what their mother takes as this features dutifulness and kindness to her.

That behavior is in no way considered robbery which, under Sharee‘ah, means taking something which others have secretly.

Allaah Knows best.