The apparent meaning of the author’s words is that if the minor himself announces it, that does not suffice; and if the legally incompetent person announces it, that does not suffice either. This is because people do not trust a child’s statement, and its owner may refrain from claiming it, thinking that the child is merely playing. Therefore, we say that the guardian must announce it, and an announcement made by the legally incompetent person or the child is insufficient. As for the child, this is clear. As for the legally incompetent person, however, there is some reservation, because he is not like a child. If people see this bearded adult man announcing found property, it is unlikely that they would think he is playing around.

If the year is completed and no one comes forward to claim this found property, it belongs to the finder, even if he is legally incompetent or a minor.

His statement, “Whoever abandons an animal in open wilderness because it can no longer continue, or because its owner is unable to care for it, its taker becomes its owner”: the author included this in the chapter on found property because it resembles it.

An example is a person who has an animal—a camel, cow, or sheep—which becomes unable to continue and can no longer walk. Its owner abandons it, having no further desire for it, so it belongs to whoever finds it. The basis for this is the hadith of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him: he was riding a camel that had become exhausted, so he intended to let it go. (1)

But if its owner claims that he did not abandon it because he no longer wanted it, but rather left it intending to return to it—for example, to treat it until it regained strength and could walk on its own—then the basic principle is that property is inviolable. Accordingly, whoever finds it and takes it as his own is liable for it if its owner claims that he left it in order to return to it.