Lost property: what is to be done with it?

Rufay' (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I found ten dinars. I came to Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and asked him about them. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Announce them at a raised place for one year. If no one is found, give them in charity. Then if their owner comes, he has the choice: he may take the reward of the charity, or take compensation for his loss.

It is narrated from Abu Wa'il that Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) bought a slave woman for seven hundred dirhams. The owner of the slave woman disappeared, so he announced it for one year. Then he came to the mosque, gave them in charity and said: O Allah, these are for him; and if he refuses, then they are upon me. Then he said: Do the same with lost and found property.

It is narrated from Amr bin Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: I heard a man from Muzaynah asking the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): What should we do with a lost item that we find on an inhabited road (where people come and go in large numbers)? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Announce it for one year. If its owner is found, well and good; if not, then it is yours.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man said: I have found a dinar. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Only a person who has gone astray gives shelter to a lost item. The man bent to throw it away, and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Do not do that. He asked: Then what should I do with this dinar? He said: Announce it. If the owner is found, return it to him; otherwise, give it in charity on his behalf.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) was asked about a luqatah (a lost item that has been found). He said: Hand it over to the ruler of the time.

It is narrated from Abu al-Safar (may Allah have mercy on him) that a man from Banu Ru'as said: I found three hundred dirhams. I had them announced only slightly, and at that time I was needy myself. After the announcement, when I found no one, I consumed them. Later I became well off, so I asked Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) about this. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Announce them for one year. If the owner comes, hand them over to him; otherwise, give them in charity on his behalf, and he has the choice either to take its reward (of the charity), or you make good his loss.

Something similar is reported from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), except that he did not say: Announce it.

Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) used to order concerning a luqatah: Announce it for one year. If the owner comes, well and good; otherwise, give it in charity on his behalf. And if its owner then comes, he has the choice.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Aqrab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I found a bag of money. I came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "O Commander of the Believers! Please become my deputy in safeguarding it on my behalf." He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Announce it during the days of Hajj." I announced it during the days of Hajj but did not find its owner. I came to him (may Allah be pleased with him) again and said: "Please become my deputy in safeguarding it on my behalf." He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Shall I not tell you of a better way? Give it away in charity. If the owner then comes and asks for the money, you are liable for the loss and the reward of the charity will be yours; and if he seeks the reward, the reward will be his and you will have whatever you intended."

Al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A found item (luqatah) is to be announced for one year. If its owner is not found, let him give it to a poor household of the Muslims and tell them: "This is a loan upon you from its owner. If the owner comes, he has the greater right to it; and if he does not come, it is charity to you from him."

It is narrated from Suwayd bin Ghaflah that he said: Zayd bin Suhan, Salman bin Rabi'ah and I set out on a journey. When we reached the place called al-Udhayb, I picked up a whip that had fallen. The two of them said to me: "Throw it away," but I refused. When I came to Madinah, I went to Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him about it. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "In the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) I found 100 dinars. When I mentioned them to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Announce them for one year. If the owner comes, hand them over to him; otherwise, take careful note of the number of the dinars, their container and its tie. Then it shall be like your own property.'"

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about a found item (luqatah). He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Announce it for one year and publicise it widely. If the owner comes, hand it over to him; otherwise give it in charity on his behalf. Then, if the owner comes after it has been given in charity, he has the choice: to take the reward of the charity or the lost item."

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said concerning a found item (luqatah): "Announce it. I will not advise you to eat it. Had you wished, you would not have picked it up."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Iyad bin Himar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever finds a found item (luqatah), let him make one or two just persons witnesses to it, then let him neither alter it nor conceal it. If its owner comes, he has the greater right to it; and if the owner does not come, it is the wealth (blessing) of Allah, which He gives to whomever He wills."