The Ruling on Selling Antiquities and Statues Excavated from the Ground

The questioner:
If what is excavated from the ground consists of antiquities, such as statues, and other items made of gold, silver, or stone that have value in the market, are they to be sold in this state or form?

The Shaykh:
As for the issue of these statues, it is not permissible to sell them because they must be destroyed. They are not wealth; they are not among the categories of wealth, because they are forbidden, and wealth is only that which is permissible. As for gold and silver, they have a different ruling. If the gold and silver are from the currency of the Muslims or from the currency of the people of the current era, they are lost property (luqatah) and have the ruling of lost property: they must be announced until their owner is found. However, if this currency is old, from the burial of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah), and it is unknown to whom it belongs—whether it belongs to the Muslims or to the disbelievers—then this is called buried treasure (rikaz). The finder of the rikaz is entitled to five-fifths of it. The finder pays the five-fifths, and the five-fifths are paid to the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal). The remaining four-fifths belong to him. The four-fifths belong to him. He pays one-fifth to the public treasury, and the four-fifths remain for him. Yes.

The questioner:
And if the state prohibits this, do we proceed with the sale?

The Shaykh:
Prohibits what?

The questioner:
That is enough.

The Shaykh:
Prohibits the sale of statues.

The questioner:
Yes.

The Shaykh:
Gold and silver are not sold, as we said, because if the owners are known, it is considered lost property. And if the owners are unknown, and it is not known whether it is the currency of the Muslims or the currency of the disbelievers, and it has no mark—no mark of the Muslims and no mark of the disbelievers—then its ruling is that of buried treasure (rikaz). One-fifth is paid to the public treasury, and the rest belongs to the finder. Yes.

Another questioner:
Okay.

The Shaykh:
Hmm?

Another questioner:
There is an artifact here.

The Shaykh:
Yes, as long as it is gold and silver currency, it is buried treasure (rikaz). Statues are not permissible to sell, and they are not considered artifacts, is that right?

Another questioner:
Breaking it once.

The Shaykh:
If it is gold, if the statues are made of gold or silver, they are broken and sold. The gold is sold so that benefit is derived from the gold and silver, or for example, if it is iron—let us suppose it is iron, iron that has value and is a statue—it is broken, meaning the image of the statue is removed, and benefit is derived from the iron. Benefit is derived from the iron because iron is wealth that can be utilized, but only the forbidden image is removed. Yes.