the year of announcement is completed, the finder owns it. It is possible that it be removed from the dhimmi's hand and placed in the hand of an upright person, because he is not trusted with it.

Section: It is recommended for one who is not trustworthy not to take lost property, because he exposes himself to a trust while he is not among those who are fit for it. If he does find it, his finding is valid because it is a type of earning, and he is among those capable of earning. Furthermore, if the finding by a non-Muslim is valid, then a Muslim is more entitled to that validity. Thus, if he finds it and announces it for a year, he owns it like an upright person. If the judge or the ruler knows of it, he shall leave it in his hand and assign to him an overseer to supervise him and take charge of announcing it, as we said regarding the dhimmi, because we do not trust him with it. This is the position of Abu Hanifa and one of the two opinions of al-Shafi'i. The other opinion of al-Shafi'i is: he removes it from his hand and places it in the hand of an upright person. Our position is that one who is left with a deposit does not lose his possession over the lost property, just like an upright person, and guardianship is achieved by assigning an overseer to him. If the overseer cannot safeguard it from him, it is removed from his hand and left in the hand of an upright person. Once he announces it and the year is complete, the finder owns it, because the cause for ownership has been realized through him.

948 - Issue; He said: (And if he finds a sheep in a city or a desolate place, it is lost property).

He means that it is permissible to take it and find it, and its ruling once he has taken it is the ruling of gold and silver regarding the announcement and subsequent ownership. This is the sound position in the school of Ahmad and the opinion of the majority of scholars. Ibn Abd al-Barr said: They agreed that for a lost sheep in a place where it is feared for, one may eat it. The same ruling applies to every animal that cannot defend itself against small predators, such as the fox, the jackal, the wolf, [the lion cub], and the like. As for those that cannot defend themselves against them, such as camel foals, calves, horse foals, chickens, geese, and the like,