Chapter on Found Property (luqaṭa)

Found property is any wealth—or any legally ownable item—that has strayed from its owner and whose recovery would normally concern people of average means. A single loaf of bread, a whip, and the like become the finder’s own without any announcement. Whatever can fend for itself against a minor predator, such as an ox or a camel, is forbidden to take. He may, however, collect other animals or goods provided he feels secure about handling them; if not, he is deemed a usurper.

Everything that is taken must be announced1 in public gatherings—though not in mosques—for one full year. After that, the finder takes legal ownership, yet he may not dispose of the article until he has ascertained its identifying features. Whenever a claimant arrives and states those features correctly, the object must be handed over to him.

For found property in the hands of a minor or a reckless person, their guardian performs the announcement.

Whoever abandons an animal in open country because it has collapsed or because the owner is unable to manage it, the one who takes the animal becomes its owner. If a person picks up his own sandal—or something similar—and finds a different one left in its place, the item he finds is treated as lost property.