It is stated in Mughni Dhawi al-Afham: “If two people describe the item, it is divided between them; but if one only describes it and the other adduces evidence, it is awarded to the one who brings the evidence.”

Al-Muntaha adds: “If two people provide an identical description, lots are cast between them, and the one whose name is drawn receives it after swearing an oath.”

8 – With regard to stray camels and the like—animals that can fend for themselves by their strength, their speed, or their ability to fly—it is unlawful to pick them up. Allah has endowed them with instincts that protect them. Whoever nevertheless seizes one is liable for it if it perishes, whether or not he was negligent, because his hand is a wrongful hand like that of a usurper. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Leave it alone; it has its water-skin and its feet; it goes to water and grazes on trees until its owner finds it.”

9 – As for stray sheep, one does whatever best serves their interest: he may slaughter and eat them while appraising their value, sell them and safeguard the price, or keep them safe for the year of announcement. If the owner appears, he takes the sheep if they are still present, or the sale price if they were sold. If the owner never comes, the sheep pass to the finder by compulsory ownership, just like an inheritance.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al al-Shaykh issued a legal opinion that when the local authorities sell stray animals or other lost property for the public good and keep the proceeds, the owner—should he later appear—has no entitlement beyond that price, for the imam or his deputy acts on behalf of the absent owner with respect to his property.

10 – The Prophet’s instruction, “Know its ʿifās (container) and its wikāʾ (tying cord),” is evidence of the obligation to safeguard lost property and care for it as one would any other trust. If knowing the container and the cord is required for the sake of preservation, then safeguarding the item itself is even more imperative.

11 – Because during the year of announcement a lost item remains a trust in the finder’s possession and does not become his property until that year has elapsed, the finder is not liable if it is destroyed in that period without negligence or wrongdoing. Once the year has passed, however, he must guarantee it—whether the loss occurred through negligence, transgression, or otherwise—because it has now entered his ownership, and its destruction therefore stems from