Rulings on Lost Property
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
A questioner asks: What are the rulings that follow from the ruling on lost property, when is it taken as a reward, and what is the ruling for the one who identifies it?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Lost property is lost wealth, and it is of two types: that which is of interest to the average people, which is what has value in the eyes of people, and that which is not of interest to the average people, such as a stick, a rope, a date, or the like. The one who finds this takes it and benefits from it. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) found a fallen date, so he took it (peace and blessings be upon him), and said: "Were it not that I fear it might be from charity, I would have eaten it."
As for that which has value in the eyes of the average people, this is the lost property upon which the rulings are based. If he finds it, he takes it and identifies it. He announces it for a year in the gathering places of people, at the doors of the mosques, saying: "Who has lost something?" He identifies its characteristics, distinguishing it and describing its features. If someone comes who describes it with matching characteristics, he hands it over to him. If the year passes and no one comes forward for it, he takes possession of it as a custodian. Whenever its owner comes, he hands it over to him. If the owner does not come, it is his.
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
A questioner asks: What are the rulings that follow from the ruling on lost property, when is it taken as a reward, and what is the ruling for the one who identifies it?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Lost property is lost wealth, and it is of two types: that which is of interest to the average people, which is what has value in the eyes of people, and that which is not of interest to the average people, such as a stick, a rope, a date, or the like. The one who finds this takes it and benefits from it. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) found a fallen date, so he took it (peace and blessings be upon him), and said: "Were it not that I fear it might be from charity, I would have eaten it."
As for that which has value in the eyes of the average people, this is the lost property upon which the rulings are based. If he finds it, he takes it and identifies it. He announces it for a year in the gathering places of people, at the doors of the mosques, saying: "Who has lost something?" He identifies its characteristics, distinguishing it and describing its features. If someone comes who describes it with matching characteristics, he hands it over to him. If the year passes and no one comes forward for it, he takes possession of it as a custodian. Whenever its owner comes, he hands it over to him. If the owner does not come, it is his.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/132 — archive.org (0:55)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.