The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

Issue No. 2188- If a thing usurped by a person perishes, in case it is among the things whose double is usually rare to find, like many animals and hand-woven carpets, he should pay its price, but if its market value has undergone a change, he should give the value of the day when it perished (if the usurper delays the paying from the day that thing perished then the average inflation rate must be added to the price). However, if the usurped thing is among those which are mass-produced and their double are available usually in abundance, like wheat, barley, machine carpets, various kinds of fabrics and utensils, then, he should give back the double of what he has usurped, but its qualification and characteristics should be the same as those of the usurped one.

Issue No. 2189- If a person usurps an animal, like a sheep, and then it perishes, in case it has become fat before its death and during the time it was with him, the usurper should also pay the price of the value increase due to weight increase.

Issue No. 2190- If the property usurped by a person is usurped from him by another person and it perishes, the owner of the property can claim its compensation from any one of them and he (either of the usurpers) should give it to him.

Issue No. 2191- If an invalid transaction takes place, for example, a commodity that should be purchased and sold by weight is sold without being weighed, neither the purchaser becomes the owner of the commodity, nor will the seller become the owner of the money. However, there is no harm in making use of their own property if both the seller and the buyer consent it regardless of the transaction, otherwise the things taken by them from each other are like usurped property and should be returned back to the respective original owners. And if the property of each of them perishes while in the custody of the other, he should pay compensation for it regardless of whether or not he knows that the transaction was void.

Issue No. 2192- If a person takes something from a seller to see and check it so that he may purchase it if he likes it and it perishes, as an obligatory precaution, he should pay compensation for it to its owner.

Issue No. 2193- If one finds a lost property which does not bear any sign by which its owner maybe known (e.g., paper money or a gold coin), the obligatory precaution is that it should be given as ṣadaqa on behalf of its owner, and if the finder himself is entitled to ṣadaqa, he can keep it for himself. However, if it is an important property, the obligatory precaution is that he should get the Mujtahid’s permission.

Issue No. 2194- If a person finds a property which bears a sign [to identify its owner] but its value is less than a dirham (equal to 12.6 chickpeas of coined silver) and its owner is known, he cannot pick it up without the permission of its owner. However, if its owner is not known the finder can pick it up and keep it as his own property. And if it perishes, it is not necessary to compensate for it. Even if he has not intended to own it and it perishes without it being his fault, it is not obligatory to give its substitute.

Issue No. 2195- If in the area of the Haram in Makkah, one finds a property whose value is equal to a dirham or more, as an obligatory precaution, he should not pick it up.

Issue No. 2196- If a person finds a property which bears a sign and its value is equal to a dirham or more, it is obligatory upon him to make an announcement about it for a year irrespective of whether the found property belongs to a Muslim or a non-Muslim under the protection of Muslims. However, if he announces it every day for a week from the day he found it, and then announces once a week until the end of the year at the place of gathering of the people, it will be sufficient.

Issue No. 2197- If, instead of announcing verbally, he makes a written announcement at places where people come and go, and the people there are mostly literate or the literate individuals read out the announcement to the illiterate ones, and if it remains there for a year, it will be sufficient.

Issue No. 2198- If before the year comes to an end, a person loses all hope of finding the owner of the lost property which he has found or he has no hope of finding the owner from the beginning, he should, as an obligatory precaution, give that property on behalf of its original owner to the poor.

Issue No. 2199- If a place is allocated to the lost property in one of the Holy Shrines or Mosques and if people know that they should refer to that place for their lost property and if the people in charge of that place are reliable, it is sufficient to deliver the lost property to that place. And the persons in charge of that place should keep it for one year and in case its owner does not show up, they should act according to the next issue. Moreover, if in some cities such a place has been allocated for the lost property and people are aware of it, the obligation of announcing this lost property is lifted from the finders through submitting the object to those places.