Found and Lost Properties

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘In the beginning of time when people found something and took it this (act) caused them to lose the ability to move even one step until they threw away what they had found. The rightful…

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that one who finds something of value must (continue to) announce his finding for one year. Thereafter it becomes like the rest of his property.” (Consult fatwa also)

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a man who has found a dinar in his house. He (the Imam) asked, ‘Does anyone else enter his house?’ I (the narrator) replied, ‘Yes, many…

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about lost property found. He (the Imam) said, ‘You must (continue to) announce your finding in public for one year, regardless of its quantity - whether…

“I once asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about a house wherein certain leaves (coins of silver) are found. He (the Imam) replied, ‘If it is livable and the dwellers live therein, it belongs to them; but if it is not livable,…

“I once left for Makkah and my financial condition was the worst among people. I mentioned to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.). When I left his meeting at the door I found a bag with seven hundred dinar in it. I immediately…

“Once a man said, ‘I have found a certain amount of property and because of it I am afraid for myself. I wish to find the owner to free myself of this difficulty. He (the narrator) has said, that abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.),…

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), ‘A man found a certain amount of goods and he announced about it in public for one year. He then bought a slave-girl. A man then claiming to be the owner came…

“I once wrote to the man (a.s.), and asked him about the case of a man who had bought camels or cows for sacrificial offering. When he slaughtered, he found a bag of dinar or diamond inside the animal. To whom this found…

“Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), has said, ‘Whoever finds something it is for him to benefit thereby until the owner comes. He then must give it to the owner.” (Consult Fatwa also.)

“I asked abu Ja’far (a.s.), about lost property found. He (the Imam) said, ’He must not pick it up, and if he did so, it becomes his responsibility to announce for it up to one year. If the owner did not come forward, it…

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that once someone came to the Holy Prophet, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, saying, ‘I have found a sheep.’ The Messenger of…

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If one finds a certain amount of goods, or a camel in wilderness which has become tired has stopped walking and its owner has abandoned it; someone other than the owner then takes it,…

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.), issued a judgment about the animal of a man who had abandoned it as follows: ‘If he has left it near water, and proper and safe pasture it is for him. He…

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘There is no offense in picking up a stick, pieces of wood used in the saddle of camels, stage, ropes, and harnesses and similar items. He (the Imam) then said, ‘Abu Ja’far (a.s.), has…

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.), has said, ‘If a horse is released by its owner or if he is not able to feed it or pay its expenses, it then is for one who revives it.’ He (the Imam) has…

“I heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, ‘One who finds a lost animal but does not announce in public what he has found and then it is found by the owner, it then is for the care-taker (owner) or its kind (current value)…