951 - Issue: He said, "And it is spent upon him from the public treasury (bayt al-mal) if nothing is found with him to be spent upon him."

The summary of this is that if nothing is found with the foundling, the one who found him is not obligated to spend upon him, according to the opinion of the generality of the people of knowledge. Ibn al-Mundhir said, "Everyone we preserve [an opinion from] among the people of knowledge has reached consensus that the maintenance (nafaqa) of the foundling is not obligatory upon the finder, in the same way that the maintenance of a child is obligatory." This is because the grounds for the obligation of maintenance—such as kinship, marriage, ownership, and clientage (wala')—are absent. The finding is merely saving him from destruction and a voluntary act of protection, so this does not necessitate maintenance, just as if one were to do so with someone other than a foundling. His maintenance is obligatory upon the public treasury, according to the statement of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, in the hadith of Abu Jamila: "Go, for he is free, you have his clientage (wala'), and upon us is his maintenance." In one narration: "...from the public treasury." Also because the public treasury is his heir, and his property is spent upon it, so his maintenance is upon it, like his kin and his master. If spending upon him from the public treasury is impossible, because there is no wealth in it, or he is in a place where there is no Imam, or he is not given anything, then it is upon those who know his situation among the Muslims to spend upon him, for the saying of Allah the Almighty: "And cooperate in righteousness and piety" (Surat al-Ma'ida: 2). Also because leaving him without spending leads to his destruction, and protecting him from that is obligatory, just like saving him from drowning. This is a communal obligation (fard kifaya); if some perform it, it is lifted from the rest, but if all abandon it, they are sinful. Whoever spends upon him voluntarily has no claim, whether he is the finder or someone else. If he does not spend voluntarily, but the finder or someone else spends upon him intending to seek reimbursement if he becomes affluent, and this was by the order of the judge, the foundling is liable for that if the expenditure was moderate and customary. This is the opinion of al-Thawri, al-Shafi'i, and the jurists (Ashab al-Ra'y). And...