A man from the tribe of Banu Haritha reported that he was the governor of Yamama, and that Marwan wrote to him stating that Muawiya had written to him saying, "Whenever a man has something stolen from him, he has the greater right to it for its price wherever he finds it."He said, "So I wrote back to Marwan that the Prophet ﷺ had ruled that if the one who purchased the stolen item from the thief is not under suspicion, the owner is given the choice. If he wishes, he may take what was stolen from him by paying the price, and if he wishes, he may pursue the thief instead."He added that Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them, ruled the same way.
حدثنا روح حدثنا ابن جريج أخبرني عكرمة بن خالد
ثم أحد بني حارثة أنه أخبره أنه كان عاملا على اليمامة وأن مروان كتب إليه أن معاوية كتب إليه أيما رجل سرق منه سرقة فهو أحق بها بالثمن حيث وجدها قال فكتبت إلى مروان أن النبي ﷺ قضى أنه إذا كان الذي ابتاعها من الذي سرقها غير متهم خير سيدها فإن شاء أخذ الذي سرق منه بالثمن وإن شاء اتبع سارقه قال وقضى بذلك أبو بكر وعمر وعثمان رضي الله تعالى عنهم