How to Deal with Lost Property

Question:
After this, a message was received for the program from the Western Province of the Kingdom, the governorate of.... The sender of the message is the listener Mustafa ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim. The brother asks Your Eminence, saying: I found a sum of money on the road, and I do not know what to do with it. Please guide me on how to deal with it? Should I keep it with me? Or should I give it in charity? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
You must announce it in the gathering places of people, saying: I found money on such-and-such a road, in such-and-such a place, in cash, dollars, dinars, Saudi riyals, and so on; you clarify the details. If someone comes to you who recognizes it, and states that the number is such-and-such, and the total is such-and-such, you give it to him. If a year passes and no one comes, you take it for yourself. This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that it be announced for a full year. You announce it in the gathering places of people, at the doors of the congregational mosques, in the markets, asking: Who has such-and-such? Who has such-and-such? Twice a month, three times, or more, until the year is completed. If the year is completed and no one comes, it is yours, unless it is a small, insignificant amount with no value; this is yours, and it does not need to be announced, such as twenty riyals, ten riyals, or thirty riyals. Its matter is light, it does not need to be announced, its matter is easy. You may take it, and you may leave it. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.