Taking possession is a condition of a gift; otherwise the property is inherited

Question

Question: (1) Zayd contracted two marriages: from the first wife he has two sons and four daughters, and from the second wife one son. Zayd has two houses, one new and one old. Zayd distributed all the furnishings of the old house among the children of his first wife, while he himself remained in possession of the house and himself managed it.

Answer

There is hesitation in accepting this old document, namely: the document speaks of giving the old house to the sons of the first wife, but Zayd’s conduct contradicts it, since throughout his life he himself remained in possession and control of that house and collected rent — even from his own sons, to whom he gave a portion, he collected rent just as from the other tenants.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.