Rulings on missing persons
Question

                What should a person do if he finds a lost child?
Praise be to Allah. Rulings 
          on missing or lost persons are connected to a large extent to the rulings 
          on lost property, because (in Arabic) luqtah (lost property) refers 
          to property that is lost, and laqeet (lost person) refers to a person 
          who is lost. This indicates how the rulings of Islam cover all aspects 
          of life in a way that is far superior to what is known in the modern 
          world where orphanages and refuges are set up to take care of orphans 
          and old people. An example of this is how Islam takes care of the laqeet 
          (lost person), i.e., the child who is found cast out or having wandered 
          away from his family, and his lineage is unknown in either case. The 
          person who finds him in this case is obliged to take him in, as this 
          is fard kifaayah – if some Muslims do it then the rest will not be counted 
          as having sinned, but if none of them do it then they will all be sinners, 
          if they could have taken him in, because Allaah says (interpretation 
          of the meaning): 
 “Help 
          you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness 
          and piety)”
 [al-Maa'idah 
          5:2]
 The 
          general meaning of the aayah indicates that the lost child should be 
          taken in, because this is part of cooperating in righteousness and piety, 
          and because taking him in is saving his life, so it is obligatory, like 
          feeding him if he is in need and saving him if he is drowning. 
 The 
          lost child is free in all aspects, because the basic principle is that 
          people are free, and slavery is the exception; if a person is not known 
          to be a slave then the basic principle is that he is not a slave.
 Whatever 
          money is found on him or around him belongs to him, based on what appears 
          to be the case, because he has it in his possession. The one who found 
          him should spend on him from this money, within reason, because he is 
          his guardian. If he did not find any money with him then his keep should 
          be paid for from Bayt al-Maal (the treasury of the Muslims), because 
          ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said to the one who took in a 
          lost child when he found him, “Go, he is free and you are his guardian, 
          and we will spend on him” – i.e., from the Bayt al-Maal of the Muslims. 
 According 
          to another version, ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “And 
          we will pay for his breastfeeding,” i.e., from the Bayt al-Maal. So 
          the one who finds a lost child does not have to spend on him or on his 
          breastfeeding; that is an obligation on the Bayt al-Maal. If that is 
          not possible, then those Muslims who know about him have to spend on 
          him, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 
 “Help 
          you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness 
          and piety)”
 [al-Maa'idah 
          5:2]
 And 
          because not spending on him will lead to his death, and because spending 
          on him is like supporting him or offering hospitality to a guest. 
 The 
          ruling with regard to his religion is that if he is found in a Muslim 
          country or in a kaafir country in which there are many Muslims, then 
          he is a Muslim, because the Prophet 
          
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Every child is born 
          in a state of fitrah (the natural sate of man, i.e., Islam).” If he 
          is found in a country which is completely kaafir, or where there are 
          very few Muslims, then he is a kaafir, following the (religion of) that 
          country. Custody of him belongs to the one who found him, if he is trustworthy, 
          because ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) approved of Abu Jameelah 
          keepinb the lost child when he found out that he was a righteous man, 
          and he said, “You are his guardian,” i.e., he had guardianship of him 
          because he found him first and thus was more entitled to that. 
 The 
          who finds him should spend on him from what he found with him of money 
          or other things, because he is his guardian, so he should spend on him 
          in a reasonable manner. 
 If 
          the one who found him is not fit to take him into his care, because 
          he is immoral or a kaafir, and the lost child is a Muslim, then he should 
          not be left in his care, because the immoral person has no right of 
          guardianship and the kaafir has no right of guardianship over a Muslim; 
          and because he will tempt him away from his religion. Similarly the 
          child should not be left in the care of his finder if the latter is 
          a Bedouin (nomad) who travels from place to place, because that is tiring 
          for the child. So he should be taken from him and given to one who is 
          settled in one place, because placing the child in a settled environment 
          is better for his worldly and religious interests, and it provides a 
          better chance for him to find his family and know where he comes from. 
 In 
          the case where a lost person dies or is killed and diyah (blood money) 
          is to be paid, whatever wealth he leaves behind and the diyah, if applicable, 
          are to be given to the Bayt al-Maal, if he has no heirs to inherit from 
          him such as his own children. If he has a wife, she gets one-quarter 
          of the inheritance. 
 In 
          the case of murder and aggression, his wali (next of kin) is the ruler, 
          because the Muslims will inherit from him, and the ruler is their deputy. 
          So he may choose between qasaas (retaliation in kind) or diyah (blood 
          money) to be given to Bayt al-Maal, because the ruler is the next of 
          kin of the one who has no next of kin. 
 If 
          (a lost child) is deliberately injured, but not killed, he should wait 
          until he reaches maturity, then he may retaliate in kind or forgive. 
          If a man or woman claims that the lost child is his or her child, he 
          should be regarded as such, because that is in his best interests, as 
          it connects him to his lineage and no harm is caused to anyone by doing 
          so. This is subject to the conditions that only one such claim is made 
          and that it is possible that the child belongs to him. But if more than 
          one person claims him, then priority should be given to one who has 
          evidence. If none of them have evidence, or they have conflicting evidence, 
          then he and they should be shown to people who have experience in detecting 
          family resemblances, and whoever they decide he most closely resembles 
          is the one to whom he should be given, because ‘Umar (may Allaah be 
          pleased with him) passed a judgement to that effect in the presence 
          of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them). Those who have experience 
          in detecting family resemblances can tell lineage by resemblance, and 
          the word of one such person is sufficient; this is subject to the condition 
          that he be male, of good character and with a good track record.