What is the ruling on taking an inexpensive watch found in the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) in Mecca, using it for the duration of one's stay, and then disposing of it? And is there any expiation (kaffarah) required, regardless of whether the finder was in a state of ihram or not?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
A broken watch that has no value is considered among the minor items that may be picked up and utilized as long as its owner is unknown. It is better for someone to benefit from it rather than it being discarded. The state of of the picker or the location of picking it up (Mecca) does not affect its ruling.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/146991
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 146991
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy