Muwatta Malik 1449

These are the words of a Companion, not of the Prophet ﷺ. The chain is graded on its own terms.

وَحَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، أَنَّ ثَابِتَ بْنَ الضَّحَّاكِ الأَنْصَارِيَّ، أَخْبَرَهُ ‏.‏ أَنَّهُ، وَجَدَ بَعِيرًا بِالْحَرَّةِ فَعَقَلَهُ ثُمَّ ذَكَرَهُ لِعُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ فَأَمَرَهُ عُمَرُ أَنْ يُعَرِّفَهُ ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ فَقَالَ لَهُ ثَابِتٌ إِنَّهُ قَدْ شَغَلَنِي عَنْ ضَيْعَتِي ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ أَرْسِلْهُ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتَهُ ‏.‏

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "What is done in our community about a slave who finds something and uses it before the term which is set for finds has been reached, and that is a year, is that it is against his person. Either his master gives the price of what his slave has used, or he surrenders his slave to them as compensation. If he withheld it until the term was reached which is set for finds and he used it, it is a debt against him which follows him and it is not against his person and there is nothing against his master in it." Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Thabit ibn ad-Dahhak al-Ansari told him that he had found a camel at Harra, so he hobbled it and mentioned it to Umar ibn al-Khattab and Umar ordered him to make it known three times. Thabit said to him, "That would distract me from the running of my estate." Umar said to him, "Then let it go where you found it