Bayhaqi 7641 — Those who said a mine is rikaz on which a fifth is due

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that a man from (the tribe of) Muzaynah came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! What do you say about an animal stolen from the mountain pasture? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(The thief owes) it and another like it, and an exemplary punishment. There is no cutting (of the hand) for anything of livestock except what the fold has sheltered; if it reaches the price of a shield, the hand is cut for it, and if it does not reach the price of a shield, there is a fine of twice its value and lashes as an exemplary punishment." He said: O Messenger of Allah! What do you say about fruit hanging (on the trees)? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It and its like along with it (that amount will be taken, and lashes as well), and an exemplary punishment. There is no cutting of the hand for hanging fruit except what the drying floor has sheltered; whatever is taken from the drying floor and reaches the price of a shield, then there is cutting of the hand for it, and as long as it does not reach the price of a shield, there is a fine of twice its value and lashes as an exemplary punishment." Then he said: What do you say about something found on a frequented road or in an inhabited village? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Announce it for a year; if the one looking for it comes, return it to him, otherwise it is up to you. If its seeker comes on any day at any time, return it to him. And whatever is found on an unfrequented road or in an uninhabited village, then in it and in rikaz there is khums." Then he said: O Messenger of Allah! What do you say about a stray sheep? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is food to be eaten, for you, or for your brother, or for the wolf. Keep it for your brother; it is his stray." Then he said: O Messenger of Allah! What do you say about the camel? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What have you to do with it? It has its water and its shoes with it. There is no fear of the wolf for it; it will eat the grass and come to the water. So leave it until its seeker (owner) comes."
Those who held the first view answered this by saying that this report concerns wealth from the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era) found lying on the surface of the earth on an unfrequented road or in an uninhabited village; in it and in rikaz there is khums, and it has nothing to do with mines. Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), in the narration of al-Za'farani from him, mentioned their use of the first hadith as evidence, and then said: It is da'if (weak) according to the people of hadith. Then he mentioned their use of this hadith of Hisham bin Sa'd from Amr bin Shu'ayb as evidence, and said: If the hadith of Amr is a proof, then what he narrated is a proof against him in more than one ruling; and if the hadith of Amr is not a proof, then arguing with what is not a proof is ignorance. Then he mentioned how they opposed the hadith regarding the fine, regarding fresh dates once the drying floor has sheltered them, and regarding lost property, and then said: So he contradicted the hadith of Amr, which he himself narrated, in more than one of its rulings, and took from it as evidence a single point which is merely a misunderstanding of the hadith; if it is a proof in one matter, let him hold by it in what he abandoned. The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: His statement "it is merely a misunderstanding of the hadith" points to what we mentioned: that it was not stated about mines, but only about what falls under the ruling of rikaz from the wealth of the Jahiliyyah. And Allah knows best.