The recently passed “Property Transfer (Amendment) Bill, 2026” includes a provision allowing parents or grandparents to retain the right to use and possess property, even after gifting it to their children or grandchildren, for as long as the donor lives. Similar provisions have also been made applicable to certain other family relationships.
The law’s stated purpose centers on the security of elderly parents and social realities. According to the law minister’s own remarks, this new arrangement will not affect conventional heba or other forms of property transfer under Muslim law; rather, it is being treated as a distinct legal method. But the fundamental question here is this: after transferring ownership of a property to someone else, can the donor simultaneously reserve for themselves the right to use and possess that property for the rest of their life? What is Islamic law’s position on this?
To answer this question, one must first understand the nature of ownership transfer in Islam, and specifically the Shariah definition and rulings on heba (الهبة).
1. The nature of heba in Islam: In Islamic fiqh, heba refers to —
تَمْليكُ الْعَيْنِ فِي الْحَياةِ بِلا عِوَضٍ
That is, heba refers to transferring true ownership (‘ayn) of an asset to someone else during one’s lifetime, without any exchange of value. Fiqh encyclopedias also give the core definition of heba as “granting ownership of an asset during one’s lifetime, without compensation.” (Takmilah: 7/13, Shami: 4/530, Bahr al-Ra’iq: 7/309)
What’s notable here is that heba is not intended merely to grant the right to use property; rather, through possession (qabz), the underlying ownership (raqabah) of the property passes to the recipient.
So if someone says, “I am giving you this house; but as long as I remain alive, its ownership, control and full enjoyment will remain with me” — the question then arises: has true, complete ownership actually been transferred here through heba? The answer is no. In other words, because of this condition, the heba has not been completed.
2. The difference between heba, hadiyah and sadaqah:
Heba, hadiyah and sadaqah are all, fundamentally, contracts for granting property without exchange. From a fiqh perspective, heba is the broader term; hadiyah and sadaqah can be considered specific forms of it. When something is given for the purpose of honor and courtesy, it is called hadiyah; when given to someone in need, seeking nearness to Allah or reward, it is called sadaqah.
So while the words “donation,” “gift,” “hadiyah” and “heba” differ, when it comes to transferring property ownership without exchange, they are all related to the same core fiqh framework. (Al-Mawsu’ah al-Fiqhiyyah: 42/120)