16
Chapter on Luqaṭah (Found Property)
It is divided into three categories:
- That which the average person would not care to pursue4—such as a whip, a loaf of bread, and similar items. Whoever picks up something of this sort becomes its owner by the very act of taking possession and is not required5 to make any public announcement. Should he later come across the rightful owner, he must hand the object over to him6 if it is still extant; otherwise, he is liable for nothing.
Whoever abandons his mount in a place of peril or a desolate wilderness, having despaired of saving it—whether because it is cut off or because he is unable7
(4) He referred to the “middle-ranking people,” for the elite pay no attention even to something great, whereas the rabble may pursue base aims that no one cares about. Ḥashiyat al-Rawd, 5/503.
(5) Manuscripts A, M, and N read: “la yalzam.”
(6) The word “lahu” is absent from manuscripts M and N.
(7) In manuscript N the phrase appears as “bi ʿajzihi,” with the prefixed particle ba.
باب اللقطة
وهي ثلاثة أقسام:
أحدها: ما لا تتبعه همة أوساط الناس٤: كسوط ورغيف ونحوهما فهذا يملك بالالتقاط ولا يلزم٥ تعريفه لكن إن وجد ربه دفعه له٦ إن كان باقيا وإلا لم يلزمه شيء.
ومن ترك دابته ترك إياس بمهلكة أو فلاة لانقطاعها أو لعجزه٧
٤ عبر بأوساط الناس لأن أشرافهم لا يهتمون بالشيء الكبير وأسقاطهم قد تتبع هممهم الرذل الذي لا يؤبه له. حاشية الروض "٥/٥٠٣".
٥ في "أ" "لا يلزم" وكذا في "م" و "ن".
٦ "له" لا توجد في "م" و "ن".
٧ في "ن" "بعجزه" الباء.