a kindness to you, then repay him.” (1)

Second, such a person—and others like him—should be encouraged, because bringing it back without having been asked indicates his trustworthiness. Thus, we say to the owner of the property: it is not obligatory upon you, but there is no doubt that it is honorable and virtuous to give him something.

If he says, “I picked up this lost item intending to seek reimbursement from its owner,” we say: You have no right to that, because its owner did not ask you to do this, nor did he stipulate any reward. Perhaps its owner did not even know that it had been lost; perhaps he is wealthy and affluent and is unconcerned if it is lost. Therefore, you are not entitled to anything unless you knew of the reward.

His statement, “A group shares it,” and in another version, “and for a group,” means that if he stipulates it for a group, they share it equally. That is, if a group brings back that for which the reward was offered, they divide the reward among themselves. Thus, if he says, “Whoever returns my camel shall have one hundred riyals,” and ten people return it, they share it, because each of them has worked.

Now, if five of them say, “These people are not our partners,” we say to those whose partnership has been denied: “Are these people your partners?” If they say, “Yes,” the right of the first five is established by their own claim and by the testimony of the others. But is the right of the others established