Accepting gifts from students

Question:

Is it permissible for a Shaykh to accept gifts from his students and if he accepts it, does it enter into the statement of the Prophet ﷺ:

(هَدَايَا الْعُمَّالِ غُلُولٌ)

“Gifts to workers/those placed in charge over affairs is Ghulūl (Ghiyaanah:deception)”

May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:

That which is befitting upon the teachers is to avoid accepting gifts from students in his circles, so it does not lead him to having favouritism towards them, and lack of showing care in advising and treating those that haven’t given him anything unequally.

And ‘closing the avenues and means’ is a great basis in the legislation, out of protection to knowledge and its carriers.

And this was the legal ruling of the ‘Allāmah Ibn Bāz, may Allah have mercy upon him.

And a number of narrations have come from the Salaf, may Allah be pleased with them, in this regard.

From that is: what has been narrated by Al-Khatīb in “Al-Kifāyah” (p153):

“Hassan Al-Basri when he sat in his sitting and started narrating, someone presented him a gift and he rejected it, and said:

“For those that sit in these likes of sittings, then they will have no portion with Allah.”

Or he said: “They have no share.”

[End of speech]

Meaning: if they accept it.

And after this narration he also narrated alongside its chain of narration, that a man who used to listen to hadīth from Hammād bin Salamah, after having came back from traveling across the Chinese sea, presented a gift to Hammād, whereby Hammād said to him:

“Choose, either I accept it and I will never narrate hadīth to you again, or I will narrate hadeeth to you and I will not accept your gift.”

To which he said:

“Don’t accept my gift and narrate hadīth to me”

Whereby he returned his gift and narrated hadīth to him.”

[End of speech]

As for charging for narrating hadīth, then there is an elaboration, which I have mentioned in my explanation of “Dawābit al-Jarh wat Ta’dīl” at the second sub-chapter of the second chapter.
www.dropbox.comšu65je2scddhdj8m/AAC2PLNH75AgluyuvW5Yvdr0a?dl=0

Answered by:
Shaykh Abu Hatim Yusuf Al-‘Inaabi Al-Jazaa’iree – may Allah preserve him.

Source:
t.me/abouhatem/62

Answered on:
30th, Muharram, 1438H

Translated by:
Abu ‘Abdirrahman ‘Abdullaah bin Ahmed Ash-Shingaani