My wife and I found a small piece of jewelry in a drawer that used to belong to my aunt. Unfortunately, I did not ask her right away if she lost anything because she is overseas. Then my wife showed it to a cousin of mine (without my knowledge) because my wife thought that it was not real gold so my cousin suggested that she would have her husband check its authenticity. I do not know what my cousin told her husband, but according to my wife, her husband pawned it. My wife just told me the news. Now I feel ashamed because I did not do what I was supposed to do right away. So I decided to ask my aunt if she lost that particular piece of jewelry, if she did, is it possible then for me to just pay my aunt whichever amount is the highest (the amount that she paid or the amount that the husband received of its value). I know that it seems wrong, but I only thought of doing that because my cousin and her husband (also my cousin) are in a financial crisis because of the civil war in Yemen, and what they did is wrong, but I am pretty certain that after I relate the situation to our aunt she probably will not make a big deal out of it because she understands the situation. However, I am worried, if the piece of jewelry does not belong to her either, then what should I do?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

As long as this piece of jewelry was found in your aunt's drawer, it most likely belongs to her. Therefore, you cannot dispose of it in any given way except with her consent. It is incumbent on you to inform her of the piece of jewelry that you have found. If it is her personal property and she willfully gives her consent for you to dispose of it as you wish, then there is no harm in that. You may also compensate her with the monetary value of the piece of jewelry, or less or more, if she accepts that. However, if she refuses the compensation and insists on getting her piece of jewelry back, then you are obliged to give it back as long as it is still available.

The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence reads:

"There is a difference of opinion among the scholars on whether it is obligatory to return the stolen item to its rightful owner if it is still available regardless of whether the thief is solvent or insolvent, whether he was subject to the hadd (corporal punishment for theft) or not, and whether he still has the stolen item or it is in the possession of another person. It has been reported that the Prophet returned the stolen garment of Safwaan and ordered the hand of the thief to be cut off. The Prophet said, 'Upon the hand is what it took, until it is returned.'"

If it is proven that this piece of jewelry does not belong to your aunt and you could not identify its rightful owner, then the preponderant view in this regard is that it is considered luqatah (lost and found item), and the relevant rulings apply in this case. Mughni Al-Muhtaaj ila Maʻrifat Maʻaani Alfaath Al-Minhaaj reads, "If a person finds a dirham in a plot of land that he owns or in his house and he does not know whether it belongs to him or to one of his visitors, then he is obliged to announce it to his visitors..."

You have taken the piece of jewelry; therefore, you should have made an announcement of it for one year before you disposed of it in any given way. Since you did not do so and allowed someone else to dispose of it, you are liable for its equal value to be paid to its rightful owner given the transgression on his property. The Fiqh book Al-Kaafi on the Fiqh of the scholars of Madeenah reads, "If a young boy or an insane person picked up the lost property and consumed it before the passage of the year, then he is liable for its value and it is to be paid from his wealth."

What further affirms your liability for the price of this piece of jewelry is the fact that you did not take it with the intention of announcing it; rather, you took it in order to keep it, as reflected in the context of the question. This is another reason entailing your liability for its price. Al-Fawaakih Ad-Dawaani ʻala Risaalat Ibn Abi Zayd Al-Qayrawaani reads, "If the finder takes the lost property for himself, then he is liable for its price once he takes it into his possession because such an act is similar to unjustly usurping another person's property."

In any case, if a full year has elapsed since having taken the lost property, then some scholars hold that the obligation to announce it is waived. If a year has not elapsed since having taken this piece of jewelry, then you are obliged to announce it until the lapse of a complete year. The scholars held different views as to whether you would be obliged to offer it in charity or claim it as your own.

Kashshaaf Al-Qinaaʻ reads:

"If the finder delayed the announcement of the lost property until the lapse of the year, then he bears a sin for that and the obligation of announcing it is waived. If he delayed it for a while, then he bears a sin for the delay because he is obliged to announce it immediately after having taken it, as has previously been stated, and the obligation to announce it is waived because the purpose for it is not met after the lapse of a year. If he delayed it for a while (less than a year), then he is obliged to announce it for the rest of the year. The finder also bears a sin for having taken the lost property with the intention of keeping it on a permanent basis or for having taken it without the intention of announcing it. We have previously stated that it is impermissible for the finder to claim such property as his own except in case he announced it as legislated and could not find the owner. In this case, the scholars held different views about the apt disposal of the lost property as to whether the finder is allowed to offer the lost property in charity or claim it as his own permanently. There are two different views reported in this regard."

Based on the scholarly view suggesting that it is permissible for you to offer it in charity in this case, there is no problem in leaving it at the disposal of your cousin's husband and offering its value in charity on behalf of its rightful owner. Scholars deemed it allowable for the finder of a lost property when he does not know the rightful owner to claim it as his own and pay its price in charity. Kashshaaf Al-Qinaaʻ ʻala Matn Al-Iqnaaʻ reads, "When the finder wants to take the lost property whose owner is unidentified, he can do so and pay its price in charity on behalf of the owner. Saalih (the son of Imaam Ahmad) has reported on the authority of his father that when someone buys baked brick(s) and finds out that the seller was not the rightful owner and he does not know the rightful owner, it is permissible for the buyer to claim the bought baked brick(s) as his own and offer their price in charity so as to avoid the sin..."

If the rightful owner of the piece of jewelry is identified in any given way, then he should be given two options: either to give his consent to your disposal of his property and your offering it in charity on his behalf, and then he earns the reward for such act of charity; or to reclaim his property from you, and you are obliged to give him its value, and then you earn the reward for the charity yourself.

Allaah knows best.