Is it permissible for me, as a private tutor, to accept fruit and similar gifts from students' mothers, knowing that I receive a salary, and are these gifts considered bribery or an act of good manners? What should I do with the gifts I have already taken? And is it permissible for me to eat the food they offer me while I am in their homes?

If the teaching is outside formal schools, and the teacher has no authority over student grades, there is no harm in teaching and accepting gifts. However, if the teaching is within a school, it is not permissible to accept gratuities and gifts from students' mothers, because they are considered bribes, and because "gifts to employees are ill-gotten gains" (ghulool), and they may lead to favoritism or injustice.