المعنى الاصطلاحي

Money or property that someone finds unguarded and does not know the owner of.

الشرح المختصر

"Luqatah" (lost-and-found item) is money - that belongs to a Muslim or a non-Muslim who is under Muslim protection - whose owner lost out of forgetfulness, inattentiveness, or the like, and it was not inside a "hirz" (safe place) when it was lost. "Hirz" is any place where people usually keep their money to protect it from theft, such as a house, a shop, or the like. Someone finds this money and does not know whom it belongs to, so he takes it to protect it or to own it eventually if no one claimed it within a year. Hence, money whose owner is known is excluded from the definition of "luqatah"; e.g. a wallet with money and the identification card of its owner inside it. As for an item which no one is normally entitled to, it is called "māl mubāh" (permissible money), and its founder may keep it and benefit of it without announcing it to find its owner. There are three types of "luqatah": 1. Something insignificant that the average person would not care about, such as a whip, a loaf of bread, a fruit, or a stick. 2. Something that is able to defend itself from predatory animals, either due to its size, such as camels and horses; or its ability to fly, such as birds; or its running speed, such as antelopes; or its fangs, such as leopards. Also included in this category are large items such as huge pots, wood, iron, and similar objects that are immovable from their places. 3. All other types of property, such as money, gold, silver, and animals which cannot protect themselves from small predatory beasts, such as sheep. This type is itself subdivided into three types: a) Edible animals, such as sheep and chickens. b) Food that may turn bad, such as fruit and the like. c) All other types of wealth apart from the two types mentioned above, such as money, utensils, and the like.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر

"Luqatah": something that is picked up. It is the name given to something that is found on the ground and is picked up by someone. It is derived from "laqt", which means picking up.

التعريف

Lost property found on the ground with nothing to indicate the owner.