It’s not yours

 

I had presented a gift of some items to a baby of my relative. The father accepted the gifts on behalf of the baby. About a year thereafter, we had an argument. The father has returned the gift to me. What is the ruling in this regard?

The gift that the father accepted is the baby’s property. It is not permissible for the father to destroy the property of his minor children. It is the father’s incumbent duty to safeguard the property of his minor children. It is forbidden (Haraam) for him to display his anger with you in the way which causes a loss to his minor child. The father has to incumbently pay his minor child the property value of the items he has returned to you. Furthermore, since you are aware that the items belong to the child, you should keep it in the trust for him/her until he/she attains puberty. When the child reaches adulthood, the items should be returned to him/her. If the items are such that they will become worthless by the time the child reaches adulthood, then sell them and retain the money in trust.

(Ref: The Majlis Vol. 13 No. 11 Page 2)