What is the prescribed reward amount for returning an escaped slave?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Lost-and-Found Property
Primary text
There are differing narrations regarding the specific amount of the reward. One narration from Ahmad states the reward is ten dirhams or one dinar if returned from within the settled area (*misr*), with two accounts concerning returns from outside the settled area. One account mandates a dinar or twelve dirhams, based on the hadith and reports attributed to Umar and Ali. The second account specifies forty dirhams if returned from outside the settled area, a view chosen by al-Khallal, supported by Ibn Mas'ud and Shurayh, who stated that the returnee receives both a reward (*ajr*) and spoils (*ghanima*), with the spoils being forty dirhams per slave. The narration from Ibn Mas'ud is considered stronger in terms of chain of transmission.
Supporting text
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz narrated that if the slave is found at a distance equivalent to a three-day journey, the reward is three dinars. Abu Hanifa stipulated forty dirhams if returned from a three-day distance, or a proportional amount based on the distance if closer. There is also a narration from Ahmad suggesting ten dirhams or a dinar for a return from the settled area, and two narrations for a return from outside.