for the purpose of taking ownership. If such an animal is found inside a village, the sounder view is that one may pick it up with the intention of becoming its owner. Any creature that cannot defend itself—like a sheep—may likewise be picked up for ownership whether it is found in a village or in open wilderness. Whoever picks it up in the desert is given a choice: he may (1) make the requisite public announcements and then take possession, (2) sell the animal, hold the price in trust while announcing it, and thereafter keep the proceeds, or (3) slaughter and eat it, and should its owner later appear he must pay its value. If he picked it up in a built-up area, then, on the sounder opinion, only the first two options are open to him, not the third.
It is also permissible to pick up a slave who lacks discernment, as well as non-animal property. If the object spoils quickly, such as harisa (a meat-and-grain porridge), the finder may either sell it, announce the find, and become owner of the price, or he may take immediate ownership and consume it. Some scholars, however, say that when such an item is found in an inhabited area, selling it is obligatory.
If the article can be preserved with some treatment—fresh dates that can be dried, for example—then the owner’s best interest is considered: if selling serves him better, it is sold; if drying is preferable and the finder volunteers to do so, it is dried; otherwise, part of it is sold to cover the cost of drying the remainder.
Whoever picks up lost property solely to keep it safe forever holds it as a trust. If he hands it over to the judge, the judge must accept it, and in that case the majority do not require public announcements. Should the finder later intend to betray the trust, he does not, according to the sounder opinion, become liable. If he originally picked it up intending to misappropriate it, he is liable, and thereafter—according to the school—he may no longer announce it and claim ownership. When one takes it in order to announce it and then assume ownership, it remains a trust during the announcement period and afterwards as well, so long as he has not yet opted for ownership; this is the sounder view.
He must record its type, distinguishing marks, quantity, and its pouch and tie, then announce it in the markets, at mosque doors, and in similar places for one full year, following local custom: at first twice daily (morning and evening), then once daily, then once weekly, and finally once monthly. According to the sounder opinion, a year of scattered announcements does not suffice.
I say: the stronger opinion is that it does suffice. Allah knows best.
Section
He should mention only some of the item’s identifying features. If he picked it up for safekeeping, he is not responsible for the cost of the announcements; the judge either pays from the public treasury or records the amount as a debt against the owner. If he picked it up intending to take ownership, the cost falls on him—though another view holds that if he never ends up taking ownership, the owner must pay. The sounder position is that a trivial article need not be announced for an entire year; rather, it is announced only for the period after which it is generally assumed the owner will cease searching for it.