10017
56
19 / 06 / 2026
Finding a Smartphone
If a Muslim finds a smartphone that is locked with a password and can only be accessed by formatting the device, which will erase all the data on it and make it impossible to identify the owner, what should be done in this situation? Note that the phone does not have a SIM card, and the finder has reported it to the nearest location where the phone was found, but no one has contacted him. The estimated value of the phone is about 50 or 60 dinars. What should he do? Is it permissible for him to take it?
Answer
I say, and with God's guidance: the phone is subject to the ruling of lost property, so you must announce it in the place where you found it until you are reasonably certain that its owner will not return. After that, you should give it as charity to a poor person. If you are poor, you may take it as a form of charity. And God knows best.
