Musnad al-Humaydi

Yazid, the freed slave of Manba’, narrates: A man came to the service of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and asked him about something that is found lying somewhere. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Recognize its pouch and the string with which its mouth is tied. Then announce it for a year. If it is acknowledged (by its owner), then fine; otherwise, include it in your own property.” The narrator says: The Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about a lost goat. He (peace be upon him) said: “It will either be found by you, or by your brother, or by a wolf.” The narrator says: They asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) about a lost camel, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) became angry, to the extent that his blessed face turned red. He (peace be upon him) said: “What concern do you have with it? Its belly and its legs are with it. It will reach water itself and eat grass until its owner finds it.” Sufyan says: I have come to know that a narrator named Rabi’ah bin Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman narrates this narration as a musnad narration from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him). I went to him and said: The hadith which you narrate from Yazid, the freed slave of Manba’, regarding the lost item, the lost camel or goat, is it narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) on the authority of Sayyiduna Zayd bin Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him)? He replied: Yes. Sufyan says: I did not like him because of his opinion, so I did not ask him about this. If he had not mentioned its chain of narration, I would not have asked him about its chain either.