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Dealing With “Found” Stuff: What’s Right and What’s Wrong?

01 January, 2017
Q As-Salamu alaykum. I found a golden ring with diamonds. What should I do with it (I can't find the owner)? Please advise.

Answer

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu waRahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. 

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, we would like to thank you for the great confidence you place in us, and we implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake.

Answering your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

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You ought to publicize the golden ring or any stuff you find in the street for a full year by using the available media or Ads in the city. If anyone comes forward to claim it and gives you the specific description of it, you should hand it over to him or her. If no one comes forward to claim it, you can keep it provided you are willing to return it to the owner if he comes for it anytime.

Having said this, I should point out: if there is a department or section in the police department, etc. where people entrust such lost articles and advertise it to locate the owners, then you should not keep it; rather it is your duty to entrust it to them.

In all such matters, we ought to follow customs prevailing in a culture or society where people turn to find their lost articles or valuables.

Allah Almighty knows best.

About Sheikh Ahmad Kutty
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty is a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada