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The Fiqh of Lost & Found: What are the rules pertaining to lost and found goods?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Shaykh Sohail Hanif, SunniPath Academy Teacher

What are the rules pertaining to lost and found goods?

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

There are a number of rules concerning lost and found goods. In fact, books of fiqh normally have an entire chapter devoted to the topic.

The basic rules can be understood from the following points. These are summarised from Ibn ‘Abidin’s Radd al-Muhtar[3:317, Bulaq] and Shaykh ‘Ali Haydar’s extensive commentary onMajalla al-Ahkam al-‘Adaliyya, the Ottoman law code [articles 769 and 770].

  • If somebody finds an item, it can fall into one of the following categories:
    1. An item known to be purposely discarded by its owner.
    2. A perishable item deemed customarily to be of no value and concerning which one is reasonably sure that the owner will not care to look for it. e.g. a lone pear found floating in a stream, or a walnut found on the pavement.
    3. An item deemed to be of value to its owner.
  • If i or ii above, then one can use it as one wishes without having need to announce that one has found the item in question.

If iii then the item is termed a ‘lost and found good’ (luqata). It is impermissible to take the good for ones own consumption. One may either take it to return it to its owner or leave it in its place. The particular circumstances dictate which is superior, taking or leaving.

  1. If one is able to announce the lost item and undertake the search for the owner then it is superior to pick it up. Imam al-Sarakhsi mentions in al-Mabsut that in taking it and returning it to it’s owner is fulfilling a trust which is a praiseworthy act in accordance with the noble verse ‘Indeed Allah commands you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due’ [4:58]
  2. If one suspects that one will fall short in the fulfilling the legal requirements of handling a lost and found item then it is superior to leave it.
  3. If one fears that if one does not take it somebody else will steal it then it is obligatory to take it.
  4. If one feels certain of oneself that one can not fulfil the rules pertaining to lost and found goods then one it is forbidden for one to take it.
  • If one does take it then one must take the following measures:

o Announce to those in the vicinity that one is taking this item to return it to its owner. If one is unable to announce one’s intent (ishhad) when taking the item due to the absence of witnesses, then one should do so when able.

o Undertake a general announcement (ta`rif) concerning the found item so as to locate the owner. This can take any means necessary and should be widespread enough so as to locate the owner.

o After having undertaken the above steps one has fulfilled the conditions of the lost and found good and it is considered entrusted to one’s care (amana) meaning that one is not liable to cover the costs for any accidental damage or destruction that may befall the item when in one’s care.

If a person comes and claims that he is the owner then one may hand it over to him if he provides evidence that it is his, or is able to describe it exactly or if one just feels certain in ones heart that he is the owner.

If one were to give it to someone, being convinced by his claim and thereafter the real owner were to come with a clear proof that the item found belonged to him then he takes the item from the false claimer if it is still in one piece. If it has been destroyed he is given its value from either the finder or the false claimer.

To facilitate this process the scholars mention that it is often better to describe the object only in general terms, for example ‘a wallet’, and then let someone claiming to be the owner to describe it in detail.

One keeps announcing the good and searching for its owner until a sufficient amount of time has passed such that one does not believe that the owner is still looking for it and cannot be located. In the case of perishable goods such as food items one keeps announcing until one fears that they will rot. One may then either,

i. keep holding on to it with the intention of returning it to the owner. This of course is only an option with non perishable goods.

ii. give either the item or it’s value in charity with the intention of donating the reward to the owner,

iii. sell it with the intention of giving the money to the owner.

If the owner should present himself thereafter:

o If one had given it in charity, the owner can either approve of the charity in which case he has the reward for the charity or demand the value of the good from the person who had given it in charity.

o If one had sold it, then the owner can either take the money from the sale or cancel the transaction and demand the original item from person who had bought it.

These are the main rules mentioned concerning this quite taxing responsibility. Further details may be found in books of fiqh such as the two aforementioned sources. What can be learnt from this is the great emphasis that Islam places on fulfilling and safeguarding the rights of our fellow human beings. People freely indulging in other people’s property and disregarding their rights are quite far from the high, noble ideals of the religion. May Allah give us tawfiq in giving all people their due rights.

Sohail Hanif

From Imam Nawawi’s Riyad al-Salihin (tr. Ust. Ayesha Bewley)

25. Chapter: On the command to deliver trusts

Allah Almighty says, “Allah commands you to return to their owners the things you hold on trust,” (W4:57; H4:58) and the Almighty says, “We offered the Trust to the heavens, the earth and the mountains, but they refused to take it on and shrank from it. But man took it on. He is indeed wrongdoing and ignorant.”(33:72)

199. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “There are three signs of a hypocrite: whenever he speaks, he lies; whenever he makes a promise, he breaks it; and whenever he is trusted, he betrays his trust.” [Agreed upon]

In one variant, “Even if he fasts and prays and claims that he is a Muslim.”

200. Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, related two hadiths to us. I have seen one of them come about and am still waiting for the other. He related to us that trustworthiness had descended into the hearts of men. Then the Qur’an descended and they knew it from the Qur’an and they knew it from the Sunna. Then he related that trustworthiness would be removed, and he said, ‘A man will go to sleep and trustworthiness will be taken from his heart and its trace will remain like a small mark. Then he will go to sleep and trustworthiness will be taken from his heart and its trace will remain like a weal, as when an ember rolls onto his foot and it blisters up and you see it raised up with nothing in it.’ Then he took some pebbles and rolled them onto his foot. ‘And people will continue to trade but practically no one will fulfill his trust, to such a point that it will be said, “There is a trustworthy man among the Banu so-and-so!” and until it will be said of a man, “How tough he is! How elegant! How intelligent!” when he does not have a mustard-grain of belief in his heart.’ There was a time when I did not care who I did business with. If he was a Muslim, his deen was sufficient assurance for me, and if he was a Christian or a Jew, his guardian was sufficient assurance for me. Today I only do business with so-and-so and so-and-so among you.” [Agreed upon]

201. Hudhayfa and Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, will gather the people together, and the believers will stand until the Garden is brought near to them and then they will go to Adam, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, and say, ‘O our father, open up the Garden for us!’ He will say, ‘Were you brought out of the Garden by anything but the error of your father! That is not in my power. Go to Ibrahim, the Friend of Allah.'” He said, “They will go to Ibrahim and Ibrahim will say, ‘That is not in my power. I was only a friend. That degree is far beyond me. Go to Musa to whom Allah spoke directly.’ They will go to Musa and he will say, ‘That is not in my power. Go to ‘Isa, the Word of Allah and His Spirit.’ ‘Isa will say, ‘That is not in my power.’ They will go to Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he will stand and will be granted permission. Trust and kinship will be released and will stand on either side of the Sirat, right and left. The first of them will pass over like lightning.” I said, “May my father and mother be your ransom, what is passing like lightning?” He said, “Haven’t you seen how it comes and goes in the blink of an eye? Then they will pass like the wind, then pass like birds. The strongest of men will be carried by their actions while their Prophet will be on the Sirat, saying, ‘O Lord, grant safety, grant safety,’ until the actions of the slaves are no longer sufficient and a man is brought who can only cross crawling. On the sides of the Sirat there are hooks hanging which are commanded to catch hold of particular people. Anyone who is scratched is safe but anyone who is hooked is in the Fire.’ By the One in whose hand is the soul of Abu Hurayra, the bottom of Jahannam is seventy years deep.” [Muslim]

202. Abu Khubayb ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr said, “When az-Zubayr stood awaiting the Battle of the Camel, he called me over and I went to his side. He said, ‘O my son, no one will be killed today except someone wronging or someone wronged. I think that I will be killed today as one of the wronged. One of my greatest concerns is my debts. Do you think that any of our property will remain after out debts are settled?’ He said, ‘O my son! Sell our property and pay my debts!.’ Then he willed a third, and a third of it was for his sons, i.e. the sons of ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr. He said, ‘A third of the third. If anything is left over of our property after paying the debts, then a third of it is for your children.’ (Hisham said, “Some of the sons of ‘Abdullah were the same age as the sons of az-Zubayr: Khubayb and ‘Abbad. At that time he had nine sons and nine daughters.”)” ‘Abdullah said, “My father began to order me concerning his debt and say, ‘O my son, if you are unable to settle any of it, then ask my Master for help in doing it.” He said, “By Allah, I did not know what he meant so I said, ‘O my father, who is your Master?’ He said, ‘Allah.'” He said, “Whenever I ran into a difficulty regarding his debt I said, ‘O Master of az-Zubayr! Pay his debt for him!’ and He would settle it. Az-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him, was killed without leaving a dinar or a dirham, but only two pieces of land, one of which was al-Ghaba, and eleven houses in Madina, two in Basra, one in Kufa, and one in Egypt.” He said, “The debt that he owed resulted from people bringing him money to leave in his keeping. Az-Zubayr would say, ‘No, let it rather be a loan, for otherwise I fear that it might get lost.’ He was never appointed to a government post of any kind nor to the collection of land-tax (kharaj) nor anything else. What he had came only from expeditions with the Prophet, or with Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman.”

‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr said, “When I worked out the debt he owed, I found it to be two million and two hundred thousand.” Hakim ibn Hizam met ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr and said, “Nephew, how large a debt does my brother have?” I concealed it and said, “A hundred thousand.” Hakim said, “By Allah, I do not think that your property will cover this amount.” ‘Abdullah said, “What would you think if it were two million and two hundred thousand?” He said, “I do not think you will be able to pay this. If you are unable to cover any of it, then ask me for help.”

He said, “Az-Zubayr had purchased al-Ghaba for one hundred and seventy thousand, and ‘Abdullah sold it for one million and six hundred thousand. Then he stood up and said, ‘Anyone who is owed anything by az-Zubayr should come to us at al-Ghaba.’ ‘Abdullah ibn Ja’far came to him, and az-Zubayr owed him four hundred thousand. He said to ‘Abdullah. ‘If you like, I will forgo it.’ ‘Abdullah said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘If you like, you can delay payment if you want to.’ ‘Abdullah said, ‘No.'” He said, “He said, ‘So allocate me a piece of land.’ ‘Abdullah said, ‘You can have from here to there.’ ‘Abdullah sold some of it and paid his debts in full and there remained four and a half shares of the land. He went to Mu’awiya while ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman, al-Mundhir ibn az-Zubayr and Ibn Zam’a were with him. Mu’awiya said, ‘How much have you valued al-Ghaba at?’ He said, ‘Each share at a hundred thousand.’ He said, ‘How much remains?’ He said, ‘Four and half shares.’ Al-Mundhir ibn az-Zubayr said, ‘I will take a share for a hundred thousand.’ ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman said, ‘I will take a share for a hundred thousand.’ Ibn Zam’a said, ‘I will take a share for a hundred thousad.’ Mu’awiya said, ‘How much remains?’ He said, ‘A share and a half.’ He said, ‘I will take them for one hundred and fifty thousand.'”

He said, “‘Abdullah ibn Ja’far later sold his share to Mu’awiya for sixty thousand. When Ibn az-Zubayr finishing settling his debts, the sons of az-Zubayr said, ‘Distribute our inheritance between us.’ He said, ‘No, by Allah, I will not distribute it until I have made this announcement for four years during the hajj festival: ‘Anyone who has a debt owed him by az-Zubayr should come to us and we will settle it.'” He said, “He announced that every year at the festival and when the four years were up, he distributed it between them. Az-Zubayr had four wives and after the prescribed third was removed, each wife got a million and two hundred thousand. So the total amount of his property was fifty million and two hundred thousand.” [al-Bukhari]

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