May a recovered horse be sold to protect its owner's property?
2026-10-14
T213 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Original Q&A · Complete source question and answer
Complete original question and answer, 30/411. The permission is tied to the particular need to preserve the recovered owner's property; the proceeds remain the owner's.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
سئل شيخ الإسلام رحمه الله عن رجل وجد فرسا لرجل من المسلمين مع أناس من العرب، فأخذ الفرس منهم، ثم إن الفرس مرض بحيث أنه لم يقدر على المشي، فهل للآخذ بيع الفرس لصاحبها ؟ أم لا؟
الجواب
الحمد لله، نعم يجوز، بل يجب في هذه الحال أن يبيعه الذي استنقذه لصاحبه، وإن لم يكن وكله في البيع، وقد نص الأئمة على هذه المسألة، ونظائرها، ويحفظ الثمن. والله أعلم.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
Shaykh al-Islām, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked about a man who found a Muslim man's horse with some Bedouins and recovered it from them. The horse then became so ill that it could not walk. May the rescuer sell it on its owner's behalf?
Answer
Praise be to Allah. Yes: in this situation, the one who recovered it may—and indeed must—sell it on its owner's behalf, even if the owner did not appoint him to sell it. The imams have expressly stated this ruling for this case and similar cases. He preserves the sale proceeds. Allah knows best.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 30/411
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic checked against the cited source and adjacent question boundaries. Diacritics and display marks omitted; honorific glyphs expanded. Titles and scope notes are editorial.