Sunan Ibn Majah
The Chapters on Lost Property
كتاب اللقطة
Chapter 1
ضَالَّةِ الإِبِلِ وَالْبَقَرِ وَالْغَنَمِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us: Yahya ibn Said narrated to us, from Humayd al-Tawil, from al-Hasan, from Mutarrif ibn Abdullah ibn al-Shikhkhir, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “A Muslim stray animal is a burning firebrand.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic is an elliptical, forceful warning: ضالة المسلم حرق النار. The English witness expands the image as leading to Hellfire; the source wording itself is retained as a burning firebrand.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Yahya ibn Said narrated to us; Abu Hayyan al-Taymi narrated to us; al-Dahhak, the maternal uncle of al-Mundhir ibn Jarir, narrated to us, from al-Mundhir ibn Jarir, who said: I was with my father in al-Bawazij when the cattle came home in the evening. He saw a cow he did not recognize and asked, What is this? They said, A cow that joined the herd. He ordered it driven away until it was out of sight. Then he said, I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Only one who is astray gives shelter to a stray animal.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic places the order to drive the cow away with al-Mundhir father, then has the father say that he heard the Prophet. The final saying uses rhetorical wordplay between a stray animal and a person who is astray; the translation preserves that force without adding an interpretation.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ishaq ibn Ismail ibn al-Ala al-Ayli narrated to us: Sufyan ibn Uyaynah narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Said, from Rabiah ibn Abi Abd al-Rahman, from Yazid, the freedman of al-Munbaith, from Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani. I met Rabiah and asked him, and he said: Yazid narrated to me, from Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about a stray camel. He became angry and his cheeks reddened, and he said: What concern is it of yours? It has its feet and its water-skin; it goes to water and eats from trees until its Lord finds it. He was asked about a stray sheep, and he said: Take it, for it belongs to you, your fellow, or the wolf. He was asked about found property, and he said: Learn the description of its container and its fastening cord, announce it for a year, and if it is recognized, return it; otherwise, add it to your own property.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report distinguishes a robust stray camel, which is left to find water and forage, from a sheep, which should be taken lest it be lost to a wolf. For the found property, عفاص refers to its container and وكاء to its tie or fastening; the Arabic says to make its identifying description known for one year.
Chapter 2
اللُّقَطَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Abd al-Wahhab al-Thaqafi narrated to us, from Khalid al-Hadhdha, from Abu al-Ala, from Mutarrif, from Iyad ibn Himar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever finds an item of lost property, let him have one or two people of upright character witness it. He must neither alter it nor conceal it. If its owner comes, he has the greater right to it; otherwise, it is the property of Allah, and He gives it to whomever He wills.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic permits one witness of upright character or two such witnesses, and then prohibits changing or concealing the found item. It does not describe the item as ownerless; the owner retains the stronger claim if he appears.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us: Waki narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Salamah ibn Kuhayl, from Suwayd ibn Ghafalah, who said: I went out with Zayd ibn Suhan and Salman ibn Rabiah. When we were at al-Udhayb, I picked up a whip, and they said to me, Put it down. I refused. When we came to Madinah, I went to Ubayy ibn Kab and told him about it. He said, You did the right thing. I found one hundred dinars that had been lost in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I asked him about them. He said, Announce them for a year. I did so, but found no one who recognized them. I asked him again, and he said, Announce them. I did so, but found no one who recognized them. He then said, Learn the description of their container, fastening cord, and number, then announce them for a year. If someone comes who recognizes them, give them to him; otherwise, they are like your own property.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic first reports Ubayy saying he found one hundred dinars and sought the Prophets direction; it then continues with the repeated instructions, ending in identifying the container, fastening, and count. The first location is al-Udhayb; the English witness spells it Udhaib.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Abu Bakr al-Hanafi narrated to us. (Another chain:) Harmalah ibn Yahya narrated to us: Abdullah ibn Wahb narrated to us. Both said: al-Dahhak ibn Uthman al-Qurashi narrated to us: Salim, Abu al-Nadr, narrated to me, from Busr ibn Said, from Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about found property. He said: Announce it for a year. If it is recognized, return it. If it is not recognized, learn the description of its fastening cord and container, then use it. If its owner comes, return it to him.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic preserves two parallel source chains, which converge at al-Dahhak ibn Uthman. It uses separate descriptions for the object (its fastening and container) and says to use or consume it after the year if unrecognized, while retaining the duty to return it if its owner later appears.
Chapter 3
الْتِقَاطِ مَا أَخْرَجَ الْجُرَذُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Khalid ibn Athmah narrated to me: Musa ibn Yaqub al-Zamii narrated to me: my paternal aunt, Quraybah bint Abdullah, told me that her mother, Karimah bint al-Miqdad ibn Amr, informed her, from Dubaaah bint al-Zubayr, from al-Miqdad ibn Amr, that one day he went to al-Baqi, the cemetery, to relieve himself. People would go to relieve themselves only every two or three days, for they would defecate like camels. He then entered a ruin. While he was sitting to relieve himself, he saw a rat bring a dinar out of a hole, then go back in and bring out another, until it had brought out seventeen dinars. Then it brought out the edge of a piece of red cloth. Al-Miqdad said: I pulled out the cloth and found a dinar inside it, making eighteen dinars altogether. I went with them to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him what had happened. I said: Take their alms, Messenger of Allah. He said: Take them back; no alms are due on them. May Allah bless them for you. Then he said: Perhaps you put your hand into the hole? I said: No, by the One who honored you with the truth. The last of them did not run out before he died.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic explicitly says people relieved themselves only every two or three days and defecated like camels; the English witness substitutes a claim about their faces, which is not in the Arabic. The final Arabic clause says the money lasted until al-Miqdad died; the English witness ends before this clause. The Arabic chains several women transmitters, including Quraybah reporting from her mother, Karimah.
Chapter 4
مَنْ أَصَابَ رِكَازًا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Maymun al-Makki and Hisham ibn Ammar both narrated to us: Sufyan ibn Uyaynah narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Said and Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: One fifth is due on buried treasure.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic gives two narrators, Said and Abu Salamah, jointly in the chain. Rukaz refers to buried treasure; the ruling stated is one fifth.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Nasr ibn Ali al-Jahdami narrated to us: Abu Ahmad narrated to us, from Israil, from Simak, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: One fifth is due on buried treasure.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This is a separate chain and parallel wording of the concise ruling in the preceding report; rukaz refers to buried treasure.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Thabit al-Jahdari narrated to us: Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Hadrami narrated to us: Sulayman ibn Hayyan narrated to us: I heard my father narrate, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: Among those who came before you was a man who bought a piece of land and found in it a jar of gold. He said, I bought the land from you, but I did not buy the gold from you. The other man said, I sold you the land with all that was in it. They took their dispute to a man, who asked, Do you have children? One of them said, I have a boy, and the other said, I have a girl. He said, Marry the boy to the girl, let them spend on themselves from it, and give charity.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic states that the dispute was referred to an unnamed third man, whose judgment is marriage of the two children and using the gold for their needs and charity. The narrative leaves the parties unnamed.