a whip. They both said to me: "Throw it away," but I refused. When (22) we arrived in Medina, I went to Ubayy ibn Ka'b and mentioned that to him, and he said: "You have done well." Al-Tirmidhi said: "This is a good, authentic (hasan sahih) hadith." The Shafi'iyyah have three views on it, just as there are three schools of thought. Our argument for invalidating their specific limit—based on what they mentioned—is that the hadith of Zayd ibn Khalid is general regarding every lost item, so it must be kept in its general sense, except for what has been excluded by evidence. There is no revealed text (nass) for what they mentioned, nor is it in the meaning of what has been addressed by a text. Furthermore, determining and measuring cannot be known through analogy (qiyas); rather, it is taken from a text or consensus (ijma'), and there is neither a text nor consensus in what they have mentioned. As for the hadith of Ali, it is weak; Abu Dawud narrated it and said: "All its chains of narration are shaky (mudtariba)." Moreover, it contradicts their own school of thought and the rest of the schools, so it must be interpreted in a way other than as lost property (luqata)—either because he was in a state of necessity or otherwise. The hadith of Aisha is a specific case, and it is not known what the value of the ring was; furthermore, it is merely the statement of a Companion, and the same applies to the hadith of Ali (24), and they (the opponents) do not consider that to be a proof. The rest of the hadiths do not contain a set measure, but it is permissible to take what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mentioned, and he specifically allowed for the taking of a whip, a stick, a rope, [and what is of similar value]. (25) Sheikh Abu al-Faraj (26) estimated it in his book as being less than a qirat, but its limitation is not valid for the reasons we have mentioned.

Section: If one delays the announcement beyond the first year, while being able to do so, one has sinned; because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded it therein, and the command implies obligation. He also said in the hadith of Iyad ibn Himar: "Do not conceal it and do not hide it." (27) This is because such action is a means to ensuring the owner does not find it, as it is apparent that after the year, the owner despairs of it, ceases to care for it, and gives up searching for it.