The Criterion for the Value of a Lost Item That Must Be Announced
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
A message arrived from one of the brothers saying: What is the minimum amount, O Shaykh, for a lost item? And does ten riyals, for example, count? And what is the criterion in this matter?
Answer:
A lost item is any lost money that is found. If this money has value, even if it is a small amount, it is a lost item that must be announced and preserved. However, if it has no value, such as a rope, a date, or something similar, one may take it, find it, and benefit from it. For this reason, it was said: "Whatever the ambition of the middle class of people does not pursue is a lost item." As for what the ambition of the middle class of people does not pursue, and the small amount, one may take it, find it, and benefit from it. Yes.
A message arrived from one of the brothers saying: What is the minimum amount, O Shaykh, for a lost item? And does ten riyals, for example, count? And what is the criterion in this matter?
Answer:
A lost item is any lost money that is found. If this money has value, even if it is a small amount, it is a lost item that must be announced and preserved. However, if it has no value, such as a rope, a date, or something similar, one may take it, find it, and benefit from it. For this reason, it was said: "Whatever the ambition of the middle class of people does not pursue is a lost item." As for what the ambition of the middle class of people does not pursue, and the small amount, one may take it, find it, and benefit from it. Yes.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/271 — archive.org (15:07)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.