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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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What is the duration for describing each lost item? And where is the description to be made?

Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Is the description for one year in all cases of lost property?

Answer:
Yes, it is obligatory to wait one year.
Q: Except for what the average people do not seek?
The Shaykh: No, a trivial item does not require anything. For example, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If it were not of sadaqa I would have eaten it.لولا أن تكون من الصدقة لأكلتها
Sahih Muslim 1071a
When he found a date in the road, he said:
If it were not of sadaqa I would have eaten it.لولا أن تكون من الصدقة لأكلتها
Sahih Muslim 1071a
This indicates that a trivial item is excused, such as a rope, a date, two dates, and trivial items like a riyal, ten, or five, at a time when they have no value.
Q: And after describing it for a year?
The Shaykh: He owns it. If its owner comes one day in the future and identifies it, he gives it to him, even if it is after two years.
Q: Regarding the description, is it obligatory in...?
The Shaykh: In the gathering places of people; around the mosques, in the markets where people gather: Who has the lost item? Who has the money? Who has the sheep?
Q: Are newspapers sufficient..?
The Shaykh: No, newspapers are not sufficient. The call in the markets is more effective. Not everyone reads newspapers. And if it is put in the newspapers, there is no harm, but it is obligatory to describe it in the gathering places of people.
Q: And if he leaves it, if he leaves the lost sheep?
The Shaykh: He owes nothing, but taking it is better. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Take it, for it will be for you or for your brother or for the wolf.خذها فإنما هي لك أو لأخيك أو للذئب
Sunan Ibn Majah 2504Sahih (Darussalam)
, and if he leaves it, he does not have to exert himself or tire himself, there is no harm.
Q: If it reaches, for example, ten riyals, or twenty riyals?
The Shaykh: This is trivial, it has no value, it does not need description.
Source binbaz.org.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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