Hiba (Gift) — Delivery of Possession is Everything — KSLU Family Law 2 Notes

Hiba (Gift) — Delivery of Possession is Everything

flowchart TD
    ROOT["Hiba (Muslim Gift)"]:::root
    ROOT --> ESS["Three Essentials"]:::branch
    ROOT --> KINDS["Kinds of Hiba"]:::branch
    ROOT --> MUSHA["Musha Doctrine"]:::branch
    ESS --> E1["Declaration (Ijab)<br/>by donor"]:::ess
    ESS --> E2["Acceptance (Qubul)<br/>by donee"]:::ess
    ESS --> E3["DELIVERY OF POSSESSION<br/>(Qabza)<br/>Mandatory — no delivery = void"]:::critical
    KINDS --> K1["Hiba-bil-Iwaz<br/>(gift for a return gift)<br/>Irrevocable"]:::kind
    KINDS --> K2["Hiba-ba-Sharat-ul-Iwaz<br/>(gift on condition of return)"]:::kind
    KINDS --> K3["Sadaqah<br/>(charitable gift) — Irrevocable"]:::kind
    MUSHA --> M1["Undivided share:<br/>gift VOID if property<br/>is divisible (classical)"]:::musha
    MUSHA --> M2["Exceptions:<br/>non-partitionable property;<br/>commercial venture"]:::musha

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    classDef critical fill:#F8D7DA,stroke:#721C24,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
    classDef kind fill:#FFF3CD,stroke:#856404,color:#000;
    classDef musha fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
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Hiba is an immediate, gratuitous transfer of ownership requiring three essentials: declaration (ijab), acceptance (qubul), and — the decisive one — delivery of possession (qabza). Unlike a transfer under the Transfer of Property Act, registration cannot substitute for delivery: a registered but undelivered gift is void (Md. Hesabuddin v. Md. Hesaruddin, 1984; Ilahi Samsuddin v. Jaitunbi, 1995). Kinds include Hiba-bil-Iwaz (gift for a return gift — effectively a sale, irrevocable once complete) and Sadaqah (charitable, irrevocable). Under the doctrine of Musha, a gift of an undivided share in divisible property is classically void for want of possession — but valid where the property is not capable of partition (a small house, a bath, a boat) or where modern courts find actual delivery of the undivided whole (Hayatuddin v. Abdul Gani, 1976).