Bayhaqi 12112 — Reports on one who identifies a lost item

Al-Rabi' bin Sulayman (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When (the claimant) identifies the pouch, the tie, the number and the weight, and the finder is convinced that he has not made a false claim, I advise the finder to give it to him; but in judgement I do not compel him except with evidence (bayyinah) established for it, just as evidence is established for other rights. Then he continued the discussion until he said: His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "Know its pouch and its tie" means, and Allah knows best, that he should hand over its pouch and its tie along with whatever he hands over of it, and that he should know, when he places it among his own wealth, that it is the lost property and not his own wealth. It may also be that it is a means of inferring the truthfulness of the one who claims it, and this is the more apparent. But the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is: "The evidence is upon the claimant," and this person is a claimant. What is your view: if ten or more people all described it and got its description right, should we give it to them so that they become partners in it? And if they were a thousand or two thousand, while we know that all of them are lying except one whom we cannot identify, and perhaps even that one is lying, then no one becomes entitled to anything merely by describing it.