812 – Zayd ibn Khālid al-Juhanī (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him about the luqaṭa (lost property). He said, ‘Note its container and the cord with which it is tied, then announce it for one full year. If its owner comes, give it to him; otherwise, it is yours to deal with as you wish.’ The man asked, ‘What about a stray sheep?’ He replied, ‘It will be yours, your brother’s, or the wolf’s.’ He then asked, ‘And a stray camel?’ He said, ‘What business do you have with it? It carries its own water-skin and sandals; it will reach water and feed on the trees until its owner comes upon it.’” Agreed upon. (1)

Vocabulary of the ḥadith:
– iʿrif: the imperative of “to know,” pronounced with a kasrah on the hamzah.
– ʿifāṣuhā: its container or pouch. Another narration has khirqatuhā (“its cloth covering”). Some linguists say the ʿifāṣ is a piece of leather that covers the mouth of a flask, while the part inserted into the neck is called the ṣimm.
– wikāʾahā: the cord or band with which it is tied, derived from the verb awkaytu (“I fastened”). In the ḥadith, “Do not tie tight, lest Allah tighten against you,” it refers to the very thing used for fastening.
Ibn Manẓūr observed that ʿifāṣ and wikāʾ share the same range of meanings: at times they denote the strap or cord that secures a container, and at other times the container itself.
– ʿarrifhā: an emphatic imperative from taʿrīf (“to announce”): he must call out for the owner in the place where he found the item, in the marketplaces, streets, and at the entrances of the mosques, saying, “Who has lost…"