Finds — Sunan Abi Dawud 1704

Qutaybah ibn Sa'id narrated to us: Isma'il ibn Ja'far narrated to us, from Rabi'ah ibn Abi 'Abd al-Rahman, from Yazid, the freed slave of Al-Munbi', from Zayd ibn Khalid Al-Juhani, that a man asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, about a lost item found on the road (luqtah). He said: "Announce it for a year, then recognize its strap and its container, and then spend from it. If its owner comes, then give it to him." He asked: "O Messenger of Allah, what about a stray sheep?" He replied: "Take it, for it is either for you, or for your brother, or for the wolf." He asked: "O Messenger of Allah, what about stray camels?" The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, became angry until his cheeks became red — or his face became red — and he said: "What have you to do with them? They have their own hooves and their own water-sacks (stomachs), until their owner finds them."