How can a father treat his children fairly with regard to giving gifts to males and females? If one of his sons works with his father, how should he treat him?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Fair treatment between males and females means treating them
fairly as enjoined by Allaah in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allaah commands you as regards your children’s (inheritance): to the
male, a portion equal to that of two females” [al-Nisa’ 4:11]. So if you
give the male two riyals, give the female one. But fairness in spending
means giving each one what he needs. A female may need clothes worth two
hundred riyals whilst the male needs a hat worth ten riyals. Whatever the
case, give him what he needs and give her what she needs, such as if one of
them needs to get married, then arrange his marriage and do not give the
others something of equal value, except those who have reached the age of
marriage – arrange their marriages too. This is the issue of spending and
maintenance. Fairness in this case means giving each one what he needs.
As for giving voluntary gifts, fairness means giving the male
twice what you give to the female, as stated above, as Allaah has decreed
their shares in inheritance to be.
As for the one who works with his father in trade or in
agriculture, if he gives that voluntarily and seeks his reward with Allaah,
then reward in the Hereafter is good. But if he says: I want a share in this
world like my brothers, each one of them works for himself and invests his
money, then his father should give him this, either as a monthly salary or
as a share of the proceeds. But he should treat him like a non-relative, if
someone like him would be given a salary of one thousand riyals, then he
should give him one thousand riyals per month, and if he would be given
one-third of the profits or of the harvest, then he should give him
one-third, and so on. End quote.