If, however, the child is found in a land wholly inhabited by unbelievers, or in a place where Muslims are only a small minority, he is deemed a non-Muslim in keeping with the status of the territory.

Custody (ḥaḍāna) belongs to the one who found him, provided the finder is trustworthy. ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) once left a foundling in the care of Abū Jamīlah after learning that the man was righteous, saying, “His walāʾ is yours,” that is, you hold his guardianship. Because the finder reached the child first, he is the most entitled to keep him.

The finder shall spend on the child out of whatever money or other property is discovered with him, for the finder is now his guardian and must provide for him according to what is reasonable.

If the finder is unfit for guardianship—because he is openly sinful or a non-Muslim while the foundling is Muslim—the child is not left in his care, for neither an evildoer nor a non-Muslim may exercise guardianship over a Muslim; such a person might lead the child away from his religion.

Likewise, custody is not entrusted to a Bedouin finder who is constantly on the move, for that would overburden the child. In this case the child is taken from him and placed with someone settled in a town, since an urban environment is better for the child’s religious upbringing and offers a greater chance of locating his family and establishing his lineage.

If the foundling dies, his estate—and any blood money owed for an injury that calls for compensation—reverts to the public treasury (Bayt al-Māl) when he leaves no heirs among his offspring. Should he leave a wife, she receives one quarter.

In cases of deliberate, wrongful killing, his legal guardian with respect to retaliation is the ruler (imām), because the general body of Muslims inherit from him and the imām represents them. The imām therefore chooses between exacting retribution or accepting blood money for the public treasury, for he is the guardian of one who has no other guardian.