Explanation of the period of announcement

The narrations of Sayyiduna Zayd bin Khalid al-Juhani and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) agree that lost property (luqatah) is to be announced for one year. This narration from both of them has already passed, and likewise (it is narrated) from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and from Uqbah bin Suwayd from his father from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
As for the hadith of Salamah bin Kuhayl from Suwayd bin Ghafalah, from Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the narration of al-A'mash, Zayd bin Abi Unaysah and Hammad from Salamah bin Kuhayl indicates that he is to announce it for three years.
And it has reached us likewise from Shu'bah from Salamah. Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Then after that I met him (Salamah) in Makkah, and he said: 'I do not know whether (he said) three years or one year.'"

Salamah bin Kuhayl (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Suwayd bin Ghafalah (may Allah have mercy on him) say: I was on a military expedition and I found a whip and took it. Zayd bin Suhan and Salman bin Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said to me: Throw it away. I refused. We completed the expedition, then I performed Hajj, and I passed through Madinah and met Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him). I mentioned this story, and he said to me: In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) I found a purse of a hundred dinars. I took it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "Announce it for a year." I announced it for a year but found no one who would recognise it. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Announce it for a year." I did so, then came back to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Announce it for another year." I did so, then came back to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a fourth time, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Count them and remember its tie well. If its owner comes, give it to him; otherwise make use of it." Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I do not know whether he (peace and blessings be upon him) told him to announce it three times or once.

Muslim recorded it in the Sahih from Abd al-Rahman. It seems that Salamah bin Kuhayl (may Allah have mercy on him) had doubt about it, then he would remember and hold firmly to one year.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) found a dinar and brought it to Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her). She said: This is provision that Allah Almighty has given us; all praise belongs to Allah Almighty. Buy meat and food with it. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) bought the food, then he said to Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her): Inform your father (Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)) of it; if he considers it lawful, we will eat it. When they had prepared the food, they invited the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When he (peace and blessings be upon him) came, they mentioned it to him, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is the provision of Allah." He (peace and blessings be upon him) ate of it and they ate too. After that a woman came who had lost a dinar, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ali! Give her the dinar."

Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went in to Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), and Hasan and Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them both) were crying. He asked: "Why are these two crying?" Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Because of hunger. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went out of the house and found a dinar in the market. Then he came to Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) and told her. Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Go to such-and-such Jew and bring us flour. He came to the Jew and bought flour from him. The Jew said: Are you the son-in-law of the man who claims that he is the Messenger of Allah? Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Yes. He said: Take your dinar back, and the flour too. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went out, came to Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) and told her. Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Go to such-and-such butcher and bring us a dirham's worth of meat. He went and pledged the dinar for a dirham's worth of meat and brought the meat. Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) kneaded the dough and baked bread, then she sent for her father (Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)). He (peace and blessings be upon him) came to them. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! I will tell you; if you consider it lawful for us, we will eat and you will eat too." Then he described the whole matter. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Eat in the name of Allah." So they ate. They were still in their place when a boy was calling out about a lost dinar. On the order of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) he was called and questioned, and he said: My dinar fell in the market. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ali! Go to the butcher and tell him that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says to you: Send the dinar back, and your dirham is owed by me." He (the butcher) sent the dinar, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave that dinar to him (the boy).
The Shaykh said: The apparent meaning of the hadith of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) indicates that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) spent it before announcing it. In another narration from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to announce it, but no one recognised it, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to eat it. The apparent meaning of that narration indicates that announcing it at that time was a condition, and that eating it before a year passed is permissible. The ahadith that have come stipulating a year of announcement before it may be eaten are more authentic and more numerous, so they take priority. It is also possible that eating it before a year passed was permitted to him because of necessity, and the story points to that; and it is also possible that the passing of a year is not a condition for a small item.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) found a dinar and bought flour with it. The flour seller recognised him and returned the dinar to him. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) took it and bought two qirats' worth of meat.
There is inconsistency in the text of this hadith, and there is weakness in its chains.