Short answer
Yes, as gifts, not as inheritance. What you give in good health is a gift (hiba), and the Hanafi fatwa is to give sons and daughters equally unless there is a valid reason. Giving in order to deprive an heir is sinful. Gifts made in your final illness are treated like a will: limited to one third and not to heirs.
Gifts to children in life should be equal between sons and daughters according to Abu Yusuf's view, on which the fatwa is given; favouring one without reason is makruh, and doing it to harm another heir is sinful. A gift is complete only when possession is handed over. Gifts during the final illness take the ruling of a bequest.
Other madhhabs
- Hanbali
- Being just between children in gifts is obligatory, and justice means giving a son twice what a daughter receives, as in inheritance.
Explanation
Parents often want to settle things while alive: to help a child buy a home, to avoid quarrels later, or to see their children enjoy what they built. Islam allows this. But it is a gift, and gifts have their own rules.
- Be fair. When a Companion asked the Prophet ﷺ to witness a gift to one of his sons only, he asked whether he had given the same to all his children. When the answer was no, he said: fear Allah and be just between your children.
- Equal between sons and daughters is the Hanafi fatwa position for gifts in life. Inheritance shares differ, but lifetime gifts are a different matter.
- Valid reasons to give more include a child with a disability or in real need, a child still studying, or one who serves the parents or the religion more, as long as the aim is not to harm the others.
- Hand it over. A gift of property is complete when the child takes possession, such as a transfer of title. A promise, or a note that something is "for them", is not a completed gift.
- Keep enough for yourself and your spouse, so you do not become dependent.
The final illness. A gift made during the illness that leads to death is treated like a bequest: it counts only within one third of the estate and is not valid to an heir unless the other heirs agree. Late gifts cannot be used to get around the shares.
What remains at death is divided by the Quranic shares; see who inherits. Speak to a mufti and a lawyer before transferring property, and see can you disinherit a child.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nahl 16:90
۞ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْعَدْلِ وَٱلْإِحْسَٰنِ وَإِيتَآئِ ذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱلْبَغْىِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ ﴿٩٠﴾
Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
Justice among children is part of the justice Allah commands.
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:12
۞ وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَٰجُكُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌۭ فَلَكُمُ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ يُوصِينَ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍۢ ۚ وَلَهُنَّ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌۭ فَلَهُنَّ ٱلثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُم ۚ مِّنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ تُوصُونَ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍۢ ۗ وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌۭ يُورَثُ كَلَٰلَةً أَوِ ٱمْرَأَةٌۭ وَلَهُۥٓ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌۭ فَلِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍۢ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ ۚ فَإِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَكْثَرَ مِن ذَٰلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فِى ٱلثُّلُثِ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ يُوصَىٰ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَآرٍّۢ ۚ وَصِيَّةًۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌۭ ﴿١٢﴾
And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt. And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt. And if a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, then for each one of them is a sixth. But if they are more than two, they share a third, after any bequest which was made or debt, as long as there is no detriment [caused]. [This is] an ordinance from Allah, and Allah is Knowing and Forbearing.
Wealth must not be arranged to harm the heirs.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2587
Sahih... فاتقوا الله واعدلوا بين أولادكم ...
"Fear Allah and be just between your children."
Gifts to children must be fair.
Sunan Abi Dawud 2870
Graded hasan sahih... إن الله قد أعطى كل ذي حق حقه فلا وصية لوارث ...
"Allah has given everyone with a right his right, so there is no bequest for an heir."
Gifts in the final illness, like bequests, cannot favour an heir.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hiba. Equality between children and the fatwa on Abu Yusuf's view.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Wasaya, chapter on acts in the final illness. Gifts in the final illness take the ruling of a bequest.
- Kashshaf al-Qina', Kitab al-Hiba. The Hanbali view of justice between children.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.