Jump to content

Hiba

Add links
Priority: c, Quality: c
From wikishia

Hiba (Arabic: هِبَه) or Voluntary gift is one of the Islamic Contracts whereby an individual gratuitously transfers the ownership of a property to another. The transferring party is termed the "wahib" (donor), the recipient is the "muttahib" (donee), and the subject of the transaction is the "mawhub" (gifted property). In a broader definitional framework, some scholars consider hiba to encompass gifts (hadiyya), prizes (ja'iza), and general donations ('atiyya).
Hiba is primarily categorized into compensated (mu'awwada) and uncompensated (ghayr mu'awwada) forms. In a compensated hiba, the donor stipulates that the donee must provide a reciprocal gratuitous gift in exchange. Within Islamic jurisprudential texts, hiba occupies an independent chapter detailing its specific rulings and legal conditions.
The validity of a hiba contract relies on several key conditions, including formal offer and acceptance (ijab wa qabul), the requirement that both the donor and donee be sane and of legal adulthood, and the physical delivery of the gifted property. Based on specific narrations, some jurists classify hiba as a permissible contract ('aqd al-ja'iz) that is inherently revocable; however, revoking the gift is generally deemed reprehensible. Under certain circumstances, hiba transforms into a binding contract ('aqd lazim), precluding the donor from retracting the gift. Such instances include gifts made to relatives, the death of either party following the delivery of the property, a subsequent transfer of ownership, or a fundamental alteration in the property itself.
Furthermore, jurists stipulate that if the gifted property sustains a defect or accrues detachable benefits, the donor forfeits the right to claim compensation or these subsequent benefits upon revoking the hiba.

Definition and Status

Hiba is classified among the Islamic Contracts through which an individual gratuitously transfers property ownership to another.[1] The individual transferring the ownership is designated as the "wahib" (donor), the recipient is the "muttahib" (donee), and the asset in question is the "mawhub" (gifted property).[2] In a more generalized legal context, some jurists describe hiba simply as the uncompensated transfer of property ownership, without strictly framing it as a formal contract.[3] In this broader sense, the term becomes synonymous with "'atiyya" (donation), encompassing gifts (hadiyya), prizes (ja'iza), grants of immovable property to relatives (nihla), sadaqa (alms), and waqf (endowment).[4] Al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli refined the definition of hiba by adding the condition "without intention [of seeking divine reward],"[5] a stipulation that effectively excludes sadaqa and waqf from the strict legal classification of hiba.[6] Lexically, the term derives from the Arabic root "w-h-b," meaning to bestow or give something to another.[7]
Within classical jurisprudential literature, hiba is allocated an independent chapter where both Shi'a and Sunni jurists systematically expound upon its rulings and conditions.[8] Modern legal systems also incorporate these principles; for instance, the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran outlines regulations governing hiba in Articles 795 through 807.[9]

Compensated and Uncompensated Hiba

Hiba is divided into several subcategories, which explains why some jurists utilize the plural form "hibat" to encompass its various manifestations.[10] This linguistic choice reflects the multifaceted nature of the contract.[11] A primary distinction is drawn between compensated (mu'awwada) and uncompensated (ghayr mu'awwada) hiba.[12] A compensated hiba occurs, for example, when a donor gifts a house while expressly stipulating that the donee must transfer ownership of a garden in return.[13]
According to legal researchers, while the definition of hiba intrinsically implies a "gratuitous" transfer, this does not categorically preclude the inclusion of a "compensation" clause.[14] Consequently, the prominent Shi'a jurist Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi argues that the absence of compensation in the foundational definition simply signifies that hiba does not "require" compensation, rather than rendering reciprocal compensation impermissible.[15] In practice, the compensation designated in a compensated hiba does not serve as a direct commercial exchange for the gifted property. Instead, it functions as an ancillary condition attached to the gratuitous transfer of ownership, effectively rendering it a gift exchanged for another gift.[16] Therefore, the validity of the contract remains unaffected regardless of whether the stipulated compensation is equal to, greater than, or less than the value of the original gifted property.[17]

Conditions of Hiba

Jurists have established precise conditions governing hiba, which are generally categorized into requirements concerning the contract itself, the contracting parties, and the gifted property.[18]

  • Conditions of the Contract: 1. Offer and acceptance (ijab wa qabul): The donor initiates the offer, and the donee provides acceptance. Any verbal articulation conveying this intent is deemed sufficient.[19] Furthermore, eminent jurists such as Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi and Sayyid Yazdi maintain that mu'atat—a physical action or exchange clearly indicating the intent to gift—is also legally valid without formal utterance.[20] 2. Qabd (Delivery and possession): A hiba contract only attains legal validity once the donee physically takes delivery or possession of the gifted property.[21] 3. Tanjiz (Definitiveness): The contract must be absolute and immediately effective, rather than contingent upon a future event.[22] For instance, a declaration such as "I gift my house to my wife upon my death" violates the principle of tanjiz.
  • Conditions of the Contracting Parties: Both the donor and the donee must be of legal age (baligh), sane, and acting of their own free will. Additionally, the donor must possess full legal capacity to dispose of their assets and must not be subject to interdiction (mahjur).[23]
  • Conditions of the Gifted Property: 1. The property must be a tangible asset ('ayn). Consequently, the hiba of usufructs (manafi')—such as granting someone the mere right of residence in a house—is invalid.[24] Similarly, gifting a debt to a third party (e.g., assigning a debt owed by Zayd to 'Amr) is legally invalid, as actual physical delivery (qabd) cannot be executed.[25] 2. The property must presently exist; therefore, one cannot gift future assets, such as the prospective fruit of a tree that has not yet blossomed.[26] 3. Some scholars stipulate that the gifted property must be clearly known and specified, rendering the hiba of a vague or unidentified household item invalid.[27]

Cases of the Binding Nature of the Hiba Contract

Jurisprudential debates exist regarding the fundamental nature of hiba, specifically whether it constitutes a binding contract ('aqd lazim)—which neither party can unilaterally cancel—or a permissible, revocable contract ('aqd ja'iz).[28] Certain scholars, relying on scriptural proofs such as the Qur'anic verse (fulfill the contracts)[29] and the legal reality that hiba is not automatically invalidated by the death of a contracting party (a hallmark of binding contracts), argue that it is inherently a binding contract.[30] Conversely, another faction of jurists relies on specific hadiths[31]. to establish the foundational principle that a hiba contract is permissible and revocable, outlining explicit exceptions to this rule.[32]

Prophet Muhammad (s):

Give gifts to each other; for gifts uproot rancors and drive out malice, enmity, and envy.[33]

Under these exceptions, the donor is legally prohibited from revoking the gift in the following scenarios:

  1. Hiba made to blood relatives (arham), such as parents or children, once the property has been delivered.[34]
  2. Compensated hiba, regardless of how minimal the stipulated compensation may be.[35]
  3. The death of either the donor or the donee after the delivery of the asset.[36]
  4. The property was gifted with the spiritual intention of "seeking proximity to God" (qurbatan ila Allah), effectively rendering it akin to sadaqa (alms).[37]
  5. The gifted property has been subsequently transferred to a third party, resulting in a change of ownership.[38]
  6. The property has perished, or its physical form has been fundamentally altered—for example, if gifted fabric has been tailored into a garment or gifted food has been consumed.[39]

Some Rulings of Hiba

Key jurisprudential rulings pertaining to hiba include the following:

  • Fundamentally, hiba is classified as a permissible, revocable contract ('aqd ja'iz), granting the donor the legal right to revoke and reclaim the gift.[40] However, jurists widely consider the act of revocation to be highly reprehensible.[41]
  • Should the donor choose to reclaim the property, any detachable benefits that have accrued during the donee's possession—such as the harvested fruits of a gifted tree—remain the rightful property of the donee.[42]
  • If the donor reclaims the gifted asset and discovers it has become defective, they hold no legal right to demand financial compensation for the damages sustained.[43]
  • Concerning the application of khums (Islamic tax) to gifted property, the majority of marja's hold that if the asset remains unused or surplus at the conclusion of the khums year, the payment of khums becomes obligatory.[44] Nevertheless, certain prominent authorities, including Imam Khomeini and Sayyid 'Ali Khamene'i, do not consider the extraction of khums from a gift to be mandatory.[45]
  • Moreover, if the value of the gifted property is negligible or truly minimal, it is universally exempt from khums.[46]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṭāhirī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 4, p. 552; Mishkīnī, Muṣṭalaḥāt al-fiqh, p. 552.
  2. ↑ Imāmī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 2, p. 373.
  3. ↑ Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 3, p. 138; Imam Khomeinī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla vol. 2, p. 56.
  4. ↑ Maḥmūd, Muʿjam al-muṣṭalaḥāt, vol. 4, p. 444; Imāmī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 2, p. 373.
  5. ↑ Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 2, p. 179.
  6. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 28, p. 108.
  7. ↑ Ṭāhirī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 4, p. 552.
  8. ↑ Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Khilāf, vol. 3, p. 554; ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī, Taḥrīr al-aḥkām, vol. 3, p. 273; Jazīrī, et al., al-Fiqh ʿalā l-madhāhib al-arbaʿa, vol. 3, p. 343.
  9. ↑ "Qānūn-i Madanī", National System of Laws and Regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
  10. ↑ Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 2, p. 179; ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī, Taḥrīr al-aḥkām, vol. 3, p. 271.
  11. ↑ Ṭāhirī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 4, p. 552.
  12. ↑ Mughniya, Fiqh al-Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), vol. 4, p. 221; Ṭāhirī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 4, p. 553.
  13. ↑ Imāmī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 2, p. 389.
  14. ↑ Ṭāhirī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 4, p. 561.
  15. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 28, p. 160.
  16. ↑ Mishkīnī, Muṣṭalaḥāt al-fiqh, p. 552; Imāmī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 2, p. 389.
  17. ↑ Imāmī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 2, p. 389.
  18. ↑ Ṭāhirī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, 1418 AH, vol. 4, p. 554.
  19. ↑ Mughniya, Fiqh al-Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), vol. 4, p. 223.
  20. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 28, p. 159; Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Takmilat al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā, vol. 1, p. 160.
  21. ↑ Imam Khomeinī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 57.
  22. ↑ ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī, Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ, p. 415.
  23. ↑ Mughniya, Fiqh al-Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), vol. 4, p. 223.
  24. ↑ Muḥammadī Khurāsānī, Sharḥ tabṣirat al-mutaʿallimīn, vol. 2, p. 126.
  25. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 28, p. 163.
  26. ↑ Mughniya, Fiqh al-Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), vol. 4, p. 223.
  27. ↑ Ṭāhirī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 4, p. 558.
  28. ↑ Ṭāhirī, Ḥuqūq-i madanī, vol. 4, p. 562.
  29. ↑ Qur'an 5:1.
  30. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 28, p. 192.
  31. ↑ Such as a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a): Whenever the hiba remains intact, the donor has the right to revoke it, and otherwise not. Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 7, p. 32, hadith 11.
  32. ↑ Mughniya, Fiqh al-Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), vol. 4, p. 226.
  33. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 5, p. 143.
  34. ↑ Ḥusaynī ʿĀmilī, Miftāḥ al-karāma, vol. 22, p. 173.
  35. ↑ Mughniya, Fiqh al-Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), vol. 4, p. 227.
  36. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Takmilat al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā, vol. 1, p. 173.
  37. ↑ Ḥusaynī ʿĀmilī, Miftāḥ al-karāma, vol. 22, p. 188.
  38. ↑ Mughniya, Fiqh al-Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), vol. 4, p. 228.
  39. ↑ Imam Khumaynī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 58.
  40. ↑ Mughniya, Fiqh al-Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), vol. 4, p. 226.
  41. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Takmilat al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā, vol. 1, p. 177; Kāshif al-Ghiṭāʾ, Sharḥ al-Shaykh Jaʿfar ʿalā qawāʿid al-ʿAllāma, p. 125.
  42. ↑ Imam Khomeinī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 59.
  43. ↑ Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 2, p. 181.
  44. ↑ Banī Hāshimī Khomeinī, Tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ, vol. 2, p. 8, under issue 1753.
  45. ↑ Banī Hāshimī Khomeinī, Tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ, vol. 2, p. 8, issue 1753; Khāminaʾī, Ajwibat al-istiftāʾāt, p. 177.
  46. ↑ baleegh.ir

References

  • ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī, Ḥasan b. Yūsuf. Taḥrīr al-aḥkām al-sharʿiyya ʿalā madhhab al-Imāmiyya. Edited by Ibrāhīm Bahādurī. Qom: Imam al-Sadiq (a) Institute, first edition, 1420 AH.
  • Banī Hāshimī Khomeinī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ. Qom: Islamic Publications Office, eighth edition, 1424 AH.
  • Ḥillī, Ḥasan b. Yūsuf al-. Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ. Qom: Al al-Bayt (a) Institute, first edition, 1388 AH.
  • Ḥusaynī ʿĀmilī, Sayyid Jawād. Miftāḥ al-karāma fī sharḥ qawāʿid al-ʿAllāma. edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Khāliṣī. Qom: Islamic Publications Office, first edition, 1419 AH.
  • Imam Khomeinī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh. Taḥrīr al-wasīla. Qom: Dar al-'Ilm Press Institute, first edition, n.d.
  • Imāmī, Sayyid Ḥasan. Ḥuqūq-i madanī. Tehran: Islamiyya Publications, n.d.
  • Jazīrī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, et al. Al-Fiqh ʿalā l-madhāhib al-arbaʿa wa madhhab Ahl al-Bayt wifqan li-madhhab Ahl al-Bayt (a). Beirut: Dar al-Thaqalayn, first edition, 1419 AH.
  • Khāminaʾī, Sayyid ʿAlī. Ajwibat al-istiftāʾāt. Office of His Eminence. Qom: first edition, 1424 AH.
  • Kāshif al-Ghiṭāʾ, Jaʿfar b. Khiḍr. Sharḥ al-Shaykh Jaʿfar ʿalā qawāʿid al-ʿAllāma Ibn al-Muṭahhar. Kashif al-Ghita' Institute, Al-Dhakha'ir, 1420 AH.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī and Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, fourth edition, 1407 AH.
  • Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Najm al-Dīn Jaʿfar b. Ḥasan. Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām fī masāʾil al-ḥalāl wa l-ḥarām. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAlī Baqqāl. Qom: Isma'iliyan Institute, second edition, 1408 AH.
  • Muḥammadī Khurāsānī, ʿAlī. Sharḥ tabṣirat al-mutaʿallimīn. Qom: Dar al-Fikr, second edition, 1376 Sh.
  • Maḥmūd, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. Muʿjam al-muṣṭalaḥāt wa l-alfāẓ al-fiqhiyya. Cairo: Dar al-Fadila, 1419 AH.
  • Mishkīnī Ardabīlī, ʿAlī. Muṣṭalaḥāt al-fiqh. Qom: Dar al-Hadith, 1392 Sh.
  • Mughniya, Muḥammad Jawād. Fiqh al-Imām al-Ṣādiq (a). Qom: Ansariyan Institute, second edition, 1421 AH.
  • Najafī, Muḥammad Ḥasan. Jawāhir al-kalām fī sharḥ sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. Edited by ʿAbbās Qūchānī and ʿAlī Ākhūndī. Beirut: Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-'Arabi, seventh edition, 1404 AH.
  • Ṭūsī, Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-. l-Khilāf. Edited by ʿAlī Khurāsānī et al. Qom: Islamic Publications Office, first edition, 1407 AH.
  • Ṭāhirī, Ḥabīb Allāh. Ḥuqūq-i madanī. Qom: Islamic Publications Office, second edition, 1418 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Sayyid Muḥammad Kāẓim. Takmilat al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā. edited by Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabāʾī. Qom: Dawari Bookstore, first edition, 1414 AH.
  • "Qānūn-i Madanī", National System of Laws and Regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, accessed: October 1, 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikishia.net/w/index.php?title=Hiba&oldid=208064"