Book of the Foundling (Al-Laqit)
It is the abandoned child. Al-laqit is in the meaning of al-malqut (found), a fa'il form in the sense of maf'ul (passive participle), similar to their saying: qatil (slain), jarih (wounded), and tarih (cast away). Finding and taking care of one is a collective obligation (wajib 'ala al-kifaya) based on the words of Allah Almighty: "And cooperate in righteousness and piety" (Al-Ma'idah: 2), and because it involves preserving a human life, thus it is an obligation, similar to feeding one who is in a state of starvation or saving one from drowning. It is a collective obligation; if one person performs it, it ceases to be required of the rest. However, if the community abandons it, all of them commit a sin, provided they are aware of it and neglect it despite the possibility of taking charge of it. It is narrated from Sunayn Abu Jamilah that he said: I found a wrapped [infant] and brought him to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. My 'arif (official) said: O Commander of the Faithful, he is a righteous man. Umar said: Is he as you say? He replied: Yes. He said: Go, he is free, you have his guardianship (wala'), and we are responsible for his maintenance. Narrated by Sa'id from Sufyan from Al-Zuhri, who heard Sunayn Abu Jamilah say this, and he added: And we are responsible for his nursing.
950- Issue: He said: (The foundling is free)
The entirety of this matter is that the foundling is free, according to the generality of the scholars, with the exception of Al-Nakha'i. Ibn al-Mundhir said: The generality of the scholars have reached a consensus that the foundling is free. This opinion is narrated from Umar and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them. This is also the position of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Al-Sha'bi, Al-Hakam, Hammad, Malik,
(1) Surah Al-Ma'idah 2. (2) In the original: "malqutan" (found). (3) Narrated by Imam Malik in: Chapter on Judging regarding the Abandoned Child, from the Book of Judicial Decisions, Al-Muwatta 2/738. And Al-Bayhaqi, in: Chapter on Finding the Abandoned Child..., from the Book of Found Property, Al-Sunan al-Kubra 6/201, 202. (1) In the original: "al-multaqit" (the finder).
كتاب اللَّقِيطِ
وهو الطِّفْلُ المَنْبُوذُ. واللَّقِيطُ بمَعْنَى المَلْقُوطِ، فَعِيلٌ بمَعْنَى مَفْعُولٍ، كقَوْلِهم: قَتِيلٌ وجَرِيحٌ وطَرِيحٌ. والْتِقَاطُه واجِبٌ؛ لقولِ اللهِ تعالى: {وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى} (١). ولأنَّ فيه إحْياءَ نَفْسِه، فكان واجِبًا، كإطْعَامِه إذا اضْطُرَّ، وإنْجَائِه من الغَرَقِ. ووُجُوبُه على الكِفَايةِ، إذا قامَ به واحدٌ سَقَطَ عن الباقِينَ، فإن تَرَكَه الجَماعةُ، أَثِمُوا كُلُّهم، إذا عَلِمُوا فتَرَكُوه مع إمْكانِ أخْذِه. ورُوِى عن سُنَيْنٍ أبى جَمِيلَةَ، قال: وَجَدْتُ مَلْفُوفًا (٢)، فأتَيْتُ به عمرَ، رَضِىَ اللَّه عنه، فقال عَرِيفِى: يا أمِيرَ المُؤْمِنِينَ، إنَّه رَجُلٌ صالِحٌ. فقال عمرُ: أكذلك هو؟ قال: نعم. قال فَاذْهَبْ فهو حُرٌّ، ولك وَلاؤُه، وعلينا نَفَقَتُه. رَوَاه سَعِيدٌ (٣)، عن سُفْيَانَ، عن الزُّهْرِيِّ، سَمِعَ سُنَيْنًا أُبَا جَمِيلَةَ بهذا، وقال: عَلَيْنا رَضَاعُهُ.
٩٥٠ - مسألة؛ قال: (واللَّقِيطُ حُرٌّ)
وجملةُ ذلك أنَّ اللَّقِيطَ حُرٌّ، في قولِ عَامَّةِ أهْلِ العِلْمِ، إلَّا النَّخَعِىَّ. قال ابنُ المِنْذِرِ: أجْمَعَ عَوَامُّ أهْلِ العِلْمِ على أن اللَّقِيطَ (١) حُرٌّ. رُوِىَ هذا القولَ عن عمرَ وعَلِىٍّ، رَضِىَ اللَّه عنهما. وبه قال عمرُ بن عبد العزيزِ، والشَّعْبِىُّ والحَكَمُ، وحَمَّادٌ، ومالِكٌ،
(١) سورة المائدة ٢.(٢) في الأصل: "ملقوطا".(٣) وأخرجه الإِمام مالك، في: باب القضاء في المنبوذ، من كتاب الأقضية. الموطأ ٢/ ٧٣٨. والبيهقي، في: باب التقاط المنبوذ. . ., من كتاب اللقطة. السنن الكبرى ٦/ ٢٠١، ٢٠٢.(١) في الأصل: "الملتقط".
