Ruling on a lost radio and recorder
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This is a letter we received addressed to your eminence. It says: “To the honorable Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy. And after that,”
“I inform you that I work in a grocery store in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. There is a trash bin at the grocery store. One night in the blessed month of Ramadan, after the tarawih prayers, I parked my car by the trash bin. After I got out of the car, I found a recorder and a National radio in the trash. The grocery store has no parking lot; it is the only one. The recorder is new and has the name of its owner on it. My intention is pure regarding it; I do not want it at all. Please inform us, may Allah reward you, about this, and what should I do with it?”
Answer:
What we see is that its owner should be sought out and given this radio; because this is generally what is thrown in the trash, perhaps a small child threw it, or someone of unsound mind threw it. So such a thing should be sought out. As long as its name is on it, it should be sought out and given to its owner. If he is not known, it is from the lost items. A lost item is announced if it has value, worth two hundred, three hundred, or four hundred. This would be from the lost items. What is the second one: the radio?
The presenter: A recorder.
The Shaykh: And the recorder is likewise. If it has value and is intact, and has a high value, it is announced. And if the name of its owner is on it, it is given to its owner. And this is not considered trash that anyone may take; because it appears that this was not thrown in the trash. Either a small child disposed of it and threw it, or a servant who does not reason, meaning one who is weak in conduct like a madwoman. So such a thing is not thrown in the trash by a person of sound mind, neither a recorder nor a radio. So if the name of its owner is on it, it is sought out and given to him.
The presenter: Honorable Shaykh, I believe that since it was in the nights of Ramadan, and especially as he indicated after the tarawih, perhaps he heard some of the preachers in the mosques, and their talk was, for example, about instruments of amusement and such, so he was averted from this recorder and from .... and threw it?
The Shaykh: It is a possibility of a sort. I say: a possibility of a sort. It may not be far-fetched. It may be that he threw it, but if its name is on it and he gives it to him, that is more cautious from the standpoint of precaution. And if he does not find him and sells it and gives the proceeds in charity, that is good. Yes.
This is a letter we received addressed to your eminence. It says: “To the honorable Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy. And after that,”
“I inform you that I work in a grocery store in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. There is a trash bin at the grocery store. One night in the blessed month of Ramadan, after the tarawih prayers, I parked my car by the trash bin. After I got out of the car, I found a recorder and a National radio in the trash. The grocery store has no parking lot; it is the only one. The recorder is new and has the name of its owner on it. My intention is pure regarding it; I do not want it at all. Please inform us, may Allah reward you, about this, and what should I do with it?”
Answer:
What we see is that its owner should be sought out and given this radio; because this is generally what is thrown in the trash, perhaps a small child threw it, or someone of unsound mind threw it. So such a thing should be sought out. As long as its name is on it, it should be sought out and given to its owner. If he is not known, it is from the lost items. A lost item is announced if it has value, worth two hundred, three hundred, or four hundred. This would be from the lost items. What is the second one: the radio?
The presenter: A recorder.
The Shaykh: And the recorder is likewise. If it has value and is intact, and has a high value, it is announced. And if the name of its owner is on it, it is given to its owner. And this is not considered trash that anyone may take; because it appears that this was not thrown in the trash. Either a small child disposed of it and threw it, or a servant who does not reason, meaning one who is weak in conduct like a madwoman. So such a thing is not thrown in the trash by a person of sound mind, neither a recorder nor a radio. So if the name of its owner is on it, it is sought out and given to him.
The presenter: Honorable Shaykh, I believe that since it was in the nights of Ramadan, and especially as he indicated after the tarawih, perhaps he heard some of the preachers in the mosques, and their talk was, for example, about instruments of amusement and such, so he was averted from this recorder and from .... and threw it?
The Shaykh: It is a possibility of a sort. I say: a possibility of a sort. It may not be far-fetched. It may be that he threw it, but if its name is on it and he gives it to him, that is more cautious from the standpoint of precaution. And if he does not find him and sells it and gives the proceeds in charity, that is good. Yes.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.