In the hadith, in one of al-Bukhari’s narrations: “that the slave woman will give birth to her mistress.” (1) And regarding a stray camel, he said: “It comes to water and eats from the trees until its owner finds it.” (2)

His statement, “and which is sought after by people of moderate means”: this qualification pertains to what must be publicly announced, not to lost property itself. For something is still deemed lost property even if it is not sought after by people of moderate means. Thus, whoever finds a loaf of bread worth less than a dirham has found lost property, even though people would not ordinarily seek it.

However, the author, may Allah have mercy on him, incorporated the ruling into the definition in order to clarify that what must be publicly announced is that which people of moderate means would seek after. As for what they would not seek after, it need not be announced.

What is meant by his statement, “the concern of people of moderate means,” is that their interest and desire are attached to it. Accordingly, property that a person finds falls into three categories:

The first is that he knows its owner discarded it because he had no desire for it. This belongs to the one who finds it. For example, one may nowadays find broken chairs thrown away in marketplaces, or baskets, utensils, and the like. We know that their owners discarded them because they had no desire for them. The finder acquires ownership of such items without any further action. This also applies if we know that a man has heavy belongings in the open countryside, became unable to carry them, and left them behind