Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 22452 — A man who takes a stray camel

Al-Nu'man bin Murrah narrated to Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him): I saw that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) had built an enclosure for stray camels. They were given fodder there, neither fattening them much nor making them very lean, and the entire expense was borne by the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal). Those camels would raise their necks and look out. If someone brought witnesses for any camel, he would take it; otherwise they stayed in the enclosure in that same state, and it was not sold. Sa'id bin al-Musayyib used to say: If I were made the ruler of the Muslims, I would do the same.