Section
Once the finder has made announcements for an entire year, he still does not acquire ownership until he consciously elects to do so by an explicit statement such as, “I take possession.” One view holds that intention alone suffices; another says that ownership is gained automatically with the passing of the year.

If he does take ownership and the true owner then appears, and both agree that the item itself be returned, it is returned. Should the owner insist on having the very article while the finder wishes to substitute its value, the owner’s wish prevails, according to the sounder opinion. If the article has been lost, the finder must pay either an identical replacement or its market value on the day he appropriated it. If it has deteriorated through some defect, the owner may, on the sounder view, take it together with compensation for the loss in value.

If someone claims the article without describing it and produces no evidence, it is not handed over. Should he describe it and the finder consider him likely truthful, it is permissible—but not obligatory in the school’s view—to give it to him. If the finder does hand it over and another person later brings evidence of ownership, the article must be transferred to that claimant. If it has meanwhile perished, the rightful owner may demand recompense from either the finder or the intermediary recipient, though ultimate liability rests with the latter.

I (the author) say: Under the sound view, lost property found within the Sacred Precinct (ḥaram) may never be taken for personal ownership; it must unquestionably be announced. Allah knows best.