Finding a chicken and its eggs
Question
In a semi-rural settement, with small farms/small holdings all around, the owner of a piece of land has chickens that are free range. He feeds them and benefits from the eggs etc. Recently, a chicken from somewhere else has entered and made a home amongst the other chickens. It refuses to leave and the other chickens have now eventually accepted it. Nobody within the surrounding vicinity has made any enquiries. It is common that the neighbourhood chat group has everything in it, even the most trivial issues. What happens now? Who will this chicken belong to? The eggs from this chicken will belong to who? And, how will one recognize which eggs belong to which chicken?
Answer
1. In principle, if a stray chicken is found then it is Waajib for one to announce the lost chicken. [Re: Fataawa Uthmaaniyyah Vol:8 Pg:430] One may use modern means such as Whatsapp or social media to announce the lost item without including any pictures. [Re: Fataawa Uthmaaniyyah Vol:8 Pg:435] According to the jurists, if the lost item is valued at 10 Dirhams or more, then it should be advertised for 1 year. If the item is valued at 10 Dirhams, then it should be advertised for one month, and if it is valued at 3 Dirhams or less, then it should be advertised for one week. [Re: Fataawa Uthmaaniyyah Vol:8 Pg:430]
If the owner is located, then it should be returned to its respective owner. However, if the stray chicken was a hen and it laid eggs or it hatched chicks, then the chicks and eggs laid by the hen will belong to the owner as well. If the lost chicken was a male (rooster) and it mates with one of your hens, then the rooster will be returned to its owner and the chicks or eggs will belong to you.
2. If the owner cannot be located or traced, then it should be given in Sadaqah to a poor person that qualifies as a recipient of Zakaat. If the finder qualifies as a recipient of Zakaat, he may keep it for himself. [Re: Fataawa Utmaaniyyah Vol:8 Pg:431] However, if after giving the chicken in charity, the owner is found and claims his chicken or chicks or eggs, then it will be necessary to pay the value of these to the owner, and the finder will be rewarded for the Sadaqah discharged. [Re: Fataawa Mahmoodiyyah Vol:23 Pg:370]
3. If there is certainty that the stray hen has laid a stipulated number of eggs, then the same number of eggs will be given in charity (from the eggs in the chicken pen or coop) to a poor recipient of Zakaat if the owner cannot be located. If there is no certainty as to whether the hen laid eggs or not, then only the hen will be given out in charity to a poor person eligible for Zakaat. It is also permissible to give the hen, or eggs, or chicks to a poor person eligible for Zakaat and then purchase it from him for oneself.
References (Arabic / Urdu sources)
[RE: Fataawa Mahmoodiyyah Vol:23 Pg:380]
وَفِي التَّنْوِيرِ مِحْضَنَةُ حَمَامٍ اخْتَلَطَ بِهَا أَهْلِيٌّ لِغَيْرِهِ لَا يَنْبَغِي لَهُ أَنْ يَأْخُذَهُ وَإِنْ أَخَذَهُ طَلَبَ صَاحِبَهُ لِيَرُدَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فَإِنْ فَرَّخَ عِنْدَهُ فَإِنْ كَانَتْ الْأُمُّ غَرِيبَةً لَا يَتَعَرَّضُ لِفَرْخِهَا وَإِنْ كَانَتْ الْأُمُّ لِصَاحِبِ الْمِحْضَنَةِ وَالْغَرِيبُ ذَكَرٌ فَالْفَرْخُ لَهُ وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ هَلْ يَلْزَمُ الْجَعْلُ أَوْ لاَ (مجمع الانهرج١ص٧٠٦))
(محضنة) أي برج (حمام اختلط بها أهلي لغيره لا ينبغي له أن يأخذه، وإن أخذه طلب صاحبه ليرده عليه) لأنه كاللقطة (فإن فرخ عنده، فإن) كانت (الام غريبة لا يتعرض لفرخها) لأنه ملك الغير (وإن الام لصاحب المحضنة والغريب ذكر فالفرخ له) وإن لم يعلم أن ببرجه غريبا لا شيء عليه إن شاء الله قلت: وإذا لم يملك الفرخ، فإن فقيرا أكله، وإن غنيا تصدق به ثم اشتراه، وهكذا كان يفعل الامام الحلواني ظهيرية (الدر المختار ج١ص٣٥٦)
ويعرف الملتقط اللقطة في الأسواق والشوارع مدة يغلب على ظنه ان صاحبها لا يطلبها الا بعد ذلك هو الصحيح (الفتوي الهندية ج٢ص٢٨٩)
فان جاء صاحبها فامضي الصدقة يكون له ثواباها وان لم يمضها ضمن الملتقط او المسكين ان شاء لو هلكت في يده (الفتاوي الهندية ج٢ص٢٨٩)
أن من اتخذ برج حمام، وأوكرت حمامات الناس فيها، فما يأخذ من فراخها لا يحل له؛ إلا إذا كان فقيراً، فيحل له أن يتناول لحاجة، وإن كان غنياً ينبغي أن يتصدق بها على فقير، ثم يشتريها منه بشيء. (المحيط البرهاني ج٨ص١٧٠)
فتاوى محمودية، فاروقي ج٢٢ص٥٧٨
- Answered by
- Maulana Ahmed Saeed
- Checked & approved by
- Mufti Mohammed Desai Saheb
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