Chapter on Lost Property and Stray Animals
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh|Volume 3|Book 2|Chapter 30
وَ رَوَى مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عِيسَى عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ رَجَاءٍ اَلْخَيَّاطِ قَالَ: كَتَبْتُ إِلَى اَلطَّيِّبِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ إِنِّي كُنْتُ فِي اَلْمَسْجِدِ اَلْحَرَامِ فَرَأَيْتُ دِينَاراً فَأَهْوَيْتُ إِلَيْهِ لآِخُذَهُ فَإِذَا أَنَا بِآخَرَ ثُمَّ بَحَثْتُ اَلْحَصَى فَإِذَا أَنَا بِثَالِثٍ فَأَخَذْتُهَا فَعَرَّفْتُهَا وَ لَمْ يَعْرِفْهَا أَحَدٌ فَمَا تَرَى فِي ذَلِكَ فَكَتَبَ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ "إِنِّي قَدْ فَهِمْتُ مَا ذَكَرْتَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اَلدَّنَانِيرِ فَإِنْ كُنْتَ مُحْتَاجاً فَتَصَدَّقْ بِثُلُثِهَا وَ إِنْ كُنْتَ غَنِيّاً فَتَصَدَّقْ بِالْكُلِّ".
Muhammad ibn Isa narrated from Muhammad ibn Raja' al-Khiyyat, who said: I wrote to al-Tayyib Imam Ali ibn Muhammad Al-Hadi عليه السلام: "I was in the Sacred Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) and saw a dinar. I reached out to take it, and then I found another one. I searched the pebbles and found a third. I took them and announced them, but no one claimed them. What do you advise regarding this matter?" Imam عليه السلام wrote in reply: "I have understood what you mentioned about the dinars. If you are in need, then give one-third of them in charity. But if you are wealthy, then give all of them in charity."
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Faqīh