What is the minimum value for which announcing lost property becomes obligatory?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Lost-and-Found Property
Primary text
Malik and Abu Hanifa state that announcing property is not obligatory if its value is below the threshold at which a thief would have their hand cut off. For Malik, this threshold is one quarter of a Dinar, and for Abu Hanifa, it is ten Dirhams. The reasoning is that property below this value is considered trivial, similar to a crumb or a date, and therefore does not require announcement. The evidence cited for triviality is the statement of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that they would not impose amputation for trivial matters. Additionally, a narration from Abu Dawud concerning Jaber permits the Prophet, peace be upon him, to grant concession regarding taking a stick, a whip, or a rope, which might be worth Dirhams.
Supporting text
The Shafis have three different opinions on this matter, analogous to the three main schools of jurisprudence. The view upholding the specification of value is rebutted by maintaining the general application of the narration concerning Zayd bin Khalid over all lost items, unless specifically excluded by clear proof, which the specified values lack. Furthermore, specification and quantification cannot be established by analogy but must originate from explicit text (Nass) or consensus (Ijma'), neither of which supports the stated monetary limits.