Firstly, a gift is a form of ownership without any compensation. Its purpose is often to express goodwill, honor, affection, connection, or reward. Therefore, it falls under the category of donations and is not a form of exchange.
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, encouraged the exchange of gifts as a means of fostering affection and goodwill among people. He said, “Exchange gifts, as that will lead to increasing your love to one another.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad and by At-Tabarani in Al-Awsat). He also advised, “Do not belittle any gift that your neighbor may give you, even if it is the leg of a sheep.” (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi)The term “leg of a sheep” here refers to a part of the sheep’s leg that contains a small amount of meat, which is the shank or lower part of the leg.
The majority of jurists consider it recommended (mustahabb) to accept gifts. This is the opinion of the majority of the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i schools, as well as one narration from the Hanbali school. Hanbali scholars, along with Ibn Hazm, even hold the view that it is obligatory to accept a gift unless there’s a specific reason, such as the gift being at the request of the gifted person or foresight.
This includes both gifts from individuals and gifts from work institutions, based on the general wording.
Secondly, the jurists unanimously agree on the permissibility of giving tangible gifts from employers to their employees. However, they differ on gifts that provide benefits, such as offering a free training course, providing free transportation, or arranging a vacation in a specific resort, among others. People of different schools of thought do not consider these examples as gifts. The majority view is that these are gifted benefits (hiba munfa’ah), while the Hanafi school regards them as loaned-item benifit (Aariyat Munfa’ah). However, many contemporary scholars also consider this type as gift, as it has evolved to include tangible items of value.
Thirdly, possessions can be categorized as either estimable property (maal mutaqawwam) or property that is not estimable (maal ghayr mutaqawwam). Estimable property refers to what a Muslim acquires and is permissible for them to benefit from. Property that is not estimable includes items that are not permissible to benefit from, such as prohibited substances like pork, wine, ill-gotten wealth, and gambling-related funds. Property that is not estimable is not suitable to be the subject of transactions for a Muslim, such as buying, renting, or gifting—neither receiving nor giving, whether in return for compensation or without compensation.
Therefore, for anyone who possesses this type of property, it is not permissible for them to benefit from it in any way because it is impure and prohibited. It is not allowed for them to use it for themselves or for others. When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prohibited Muslims from consuming alcohol, he did not permit them to give it as a gift to non-Muslims, whether they were Jews or polytheists. He also did not allow them to sell it to non-Muslims within the Medina; as such a sale is invalid by default. This is the consensus among jurists. The only exception is the opinion of the Hanafi school, which allows selling non-permissible items to non-Muslims in non-Muslim territories with a void contract. They do not consider the contract’s invalidity as a barrier to benefiting from it.
Accordingly, based on the information provided in the question, we can state: It is not permissible for a Muslim to benefit for themselves from the prohibited portion of the gift. They should only get rid of it without using or benefiting from it.
He is allowed to sell it to a non-Muslim in a non-Muslim land and benefit from its value according to the opinion of the Hanafi scholars. However, he should not gift it to a non-Muslim, as it is fundamentally impermissible due to its nature as a property that is not estimable.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālid Naṣr