Section: Whoever catches a fish and finds a pearl inside it, it belongs to the fisherman; because pearls exist in the sea, based on the saying of Allah Almighty: {And that you may extract from it an ornament which you wear}. Thus, it belongs to the one who takes it. If the fisherman sells the fish without knowing [the pearl is inside], and the buyer finds it in its belly, it belongs to the fisherman. Ahmad explicitly stated this; because if he did not know what was in its belly, he did not sell it, nor did he consent to the removal of his ownership over it, so it did not enter into the sale, like someone who sells a house that has buried treasure in it. If he finds ambergris or something that exists in the sea in its belly, it belongs to the fisherman for the reason we mentioned, and its ruling is the ruling of the gem. If he finds dirhams or dinars, it is a lost item (luqata); because these are not created in the sea and do not belong to anyone except a human, so it is a lost item, just as if he had found it in the sea. The same ruling applies to the pearl if it shows signs of human use, such as being drilled or attached to gold, silver, or other things, for then it is a lost item and the fisherman does not own it; because it did not occur in the sea in a way that establishes possession, so it is like a dinar. The same ruling applies to ambergris if it is attached to gold or silver, or crafted, such as being a drilled apple, or similar things that are not created in the sea; it is a lost item. If the fisherman finds it, he must announce it because he is the finder. If the buyer finds it, the announcement is upon him because he is the one who found it, and there is no need to start with the seller; because it is unlikely that the fish swallowed it after it was caught and owned by the fisherman, so he and others are equal in this regard. As for if one buys a sheep and finds a pearl, ambergris, dinars, or dirhams in its belly, it is a lost item that he must announce, and he must begin with the seller; because it is possible that it swallowed it from his property, so he starts with him, similar to our view regarding the purchaser of a house if he finds buried wealth in it. If he catches the fish from outside the sea, such as in a river or a spring, its ruling is the ruling of the sheep, in that whatever is found in its belly of that kind is a lost item, whether it be a pearl or otherwise; because such things, by custom, only exist in the sea. It is possible that the pearl belongs to the fisherman, based on the saying of Allah Almighty: {And from each you eat tender meat and extract an ornament which you wear}.