Zaid bin Khalid al-Juhani relates that a person asked Allah’s Messenger ﷺabout picking up stray articles, whereupon he said, “Make an announcement about it for a year, and recognise well the strap and the bag (containing that); then spend that; and if its owner comes, make him the payment of that.” He said, “Messenger of Allah, what about the lost goat?” He said, “Take it, for that is yours or for your brother, or for the wolf.” He (again) said, “(What about) the lost camel?” The Messenger of Allah was enraged until his cheeks became red and then said, “You have nothing to do about that; it has feet and a leather bag (to quench its thirst) until its owner finds it.”
(Sahih Muslim)
This hadith deals with rulings about luqta, a thing which a person finds abandoned and preserves it. It is a trust with him. It is meritorious to keep it under one’s custody. According to some jurists, it becomes binding for a man to take a stray thing in his charge if it is liable to perish in case it is not preserved. As for the period of its preservation, it is one year; but it can be extended up to three years keeping in view the nature of the commodity.
If the commodity is valuable and it is easy to preserve it, the period is longer. Then the trustee should make regular announcements that he has found a stray thing and its owner should come to him to take it.