Muwatta Malik #1547
Judgements
The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.
وَحَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ ابْنَ شِهَابٍ، يَقُولُ كَانَتْ ضَوَالُّ الإِبِلِ فِي زَمَانِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ إِبِلاً مُؤَبَّلَةً تَنَاتَجُ لاَ يَمَسُّهَا أَحَدٌ حَتَّى إِذَا كَانَ زَمَانُ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ عَفَّانَ أَمَرَ بِتَعْرِيفِهَا ثُمَّ تُبَاعُ فَإِذَا جَاءَ صَاحِبُهَا أُعْطِيَ ثَمَنَهَا .
Malik related to me that he heard Ibn Shihab say, "The stray
camels in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab were numerous and left
alone. No one touched them until the time of Uthman ibn Affan. He
ordered that they be publicised and then sold, and if the owner came
afterwards, he was given their price."
About Muwatta Malik
This hadith is #1547 from Muwatta Malik, in the Book of Judgements.