(3) Should the article be plentiful or of appreciable worth, everyone in the school agrees that it must be publicly announced for a full year.

The second main category
comprises property that cannot practically remain with the finder and is in danger of spoiling. Here the finder—whether rich or poor—may consume it. Must he later reimburse the owner? Two reports exist, as noted earlier; the better-known one says he is not liable. As for highly perishable items discovered inside a town, the jurists differ: some exempt him from liability altogether, others require reimbursement, while a third opinion distinguishes—if he gives it away in charity he owes nothing, but if he eats it he must pay.

The third category
is exemplified by stray camels. The preferred course, in deference to the explicit text on the matter, is to leave such animals alone; if, however, the finder takes them he must announce them, although leaving them is still considered better. Some Mālikīs state that this ruling applies in all ages, whereas others limit it to times of just governance, holding that in an era of injustice it is preferable to pick the animal up.

Liability where announcement is required
The scholars agree that if the finder takes witnesses at the moment he picks up the property and it is later lost while in his custody, he bears no liability. They differ when he fails to bring witnesses. Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Yūsuf, and Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan say he is not liable so long as he was not negligent, even though he produced no witnesses. Abū Ḥanīfah and Zufar hold that if the article perishes without witnesses having been called, he must reimburse its value.

Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī argue that a lost-and-found item is a trust; the mere absence of witnesses does not transform a trust into a liability. They cite the report transmitted by Sulaymān ibn Bilāl and others, in which the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “If its owner comes, give it to him; otherwise let it remain with you as a deposit.”

Abū Ḥanīfah and Zufar, on the other hand, rely on the ḥadīth of Muṭarrif ibn al-Shikhkhīr, from ʿIyāḍ ibn Ḥimār, who related that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said:

“Whoever picks up lost property must call two upright witnesses to it, conceal nothing, and cause no hardship. If its owner appears, he has the better right to it; otherwise it is part of Allah’s wealth, which He gives to whom He wills.”

The Mālikī synthesis
According to Mālik, the finder’s action falls into one of three forms:

1. He takes the property surreptitiously, intending to keep it.
2. He takes it expressly as a finder (luqaṭah).
3. He picks it up neither to steal it nor formally to claim it, but for some other reason.

If he takes it in the second manner—as a finder—it is a trust in his hands: he must safeguard it and make the required announcements. Should he later put it back after having taken it, Ibn al-Qāsim says he is liable, whereas Ashhab says he is not liable provided he returns it to the very place where he found it; returning it elsewhere makes him liable, as with any deposit. In case of loss, his word is accepted without an oath unless suspicion attaches to him.