Disposing of lost property in the Makkah Haram

The questioner:
A questioner says: A person found money and a prayer mat in the Makkah Haram and asked me what to do with them. I told him: As for the money, give it in charity, and as for the mat, put it back where it was. Is this statement correct?

The Shaykh:
No, the answer is correct.

The questioner:
Lost items in the Haram.

The Shaykh:
One should not take them unless he intends to identify them until he finds their owner. If he will commit to this—identifying them until he finds their owner—then that is fine; otherwise, he should leave them in their place and not take them. However, some people take them and hand them over to the office, the lost and found office established by the government. If he takes them and hands them over to the office, there is no harm in that, because he has transferred the responsibility from himself to the office. But for him to take them upon himself is not correct.

The presenter:
Warning.

The Shaykh:
And Allah the Exalted knows best, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and his Companions.