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Fatwa CenterHusband may not take back family wedding gift to wife
Question
I'm a practicing Muslimah,who wears hijab&is a professional.I have been married for1year.My husband&I have been having some problems between us,mostly due to the difference of opinion between my husband&mother-in-law(MIL)about what kind of girl he should marry.He chose me&she didn't approve.Now she criticizes me&insults me every chance she gets,she badmouths me to my husband to prove that she was right in opposing the marriage, due to which he has a very bad attitude towards me whenever he calls her.She never showed her disapproval before,when my parents met them to discuss the proposal.Only after marriage she began insulting me&my parents for different reasons.My question is regarding a gold set that myMILgave me right after the wedding as a wedding present.I understand she had purchased it before knowing me,for a future daughter-in-law.I kept this set in my bank locker for safekeeping,which my husband didn't like.He made me bring it home,and at some point,he either hid it somewhere or gave it back to his mother without my permission or knowledge.He claims that the set belongs to him,as his family paid for it&he paid for it partially&he is the one who will pay zakah for it.I don't know what he plans to do with the set or whether he has sold it.I believe the set is my possession(as it was given to me as a gift by myMIL)&so I should have it&keep it where I please&do what I please with it.My questions:are gold ornaments gifted to the wife by in-laws considered the possessions of the wife?Or are they joint property between the husband&wife?Or do they belong to the husband as him&his family bought them?Who must pay zakah for these?Can the husband seize these ornaments from the wife for safekeeping or selling,with or without her knowledge or permission?Please advise.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His Slave and Messenger.
If this gold set was a gift to you from your mother-in-law, then it has become your property and it is not permissible for your husband to dispose of it without your permission, and his mother has no right to take back this gift. We have already clarified in Fatwa 226273 that what was gifted to the husband by his wife or her family, and what was gifted to the wife by her husband or his family becomes a rightful gift to the one to whom it was given and he/she has the right to dispose of it as he/she wishes and it is not permissible for the donor to take it back from them.
Therefore, your husband has no right to hide your gold set or dispose of it without your permission on the grounds that it was his mother who purchased it or that he partially paid for it.
There is a difference of opinion in regard to the ruling on the Zakah on jewelry prepared for permissible adornment. The majority of the scholars are of the view that there is no Zakah on it contrary to the view of the Hanafi School which says that it is obligatory to pay Zakah on it. It is better to pay Zakah on it in order to be on the safe side, and it is the owner of the jewelry who pays the Zakah on it. For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 83665 and 143267.
Allaah Knows best.
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