Maeda 38-40
38- THE MAN AND WOMAN THIEVES; CUT THEIR HANDS, A RECOMPENSE FOR WHAT THEY EARNED AND A PUNISHMENT FROM ALLAH, FOR ALLAH IS EXALTED IN POWER AND WISE.
39- WHOEVER REPENTS AFTER THEIR TRANSGRESSION AND PUT TO RIGHT THE WRONG THEY DID, ALLAH PARDONS HIM, FOR ALLAH IS MOST FORGIVING AND MOST MERCIFUL.
40- DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT TO ALLAH BELONGS THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS AND EARTH, PUNISHES WHOM HE WILLS AND FORGIVES WHOM HE WILLS, FOR ALLAH IS ABLE OVER ALL THINGS.
This is a clear command from Allah the Highest as to the punishment for stealing. It is generally agreed to be the right hand.
The penalty for many crimes is meant to deter people from doing the crime, and to have a safe society. To be deeply rooted in people’s minds and conscious that this particular crime is very much looked down upon and sinful. This certainly applies to theft.
This penalty of cutting the right hand of the thief is applied only in few places, mostly in Saudi Arabia. I had the opportunity to visit Saudi Arabia Twice, each occasion for about 20 days. I must say, that one does not worry about his belongings there, you leave your items in a place and come back to find it in its place. What is more, people do not expect others to steal. I remember an occasion when I went into a large Jeweler shop looking for things to by for my wife and daughters. The man serving me, took out a number of trays of gold Jewelry, left them with me and went to serve another customer. He was too far to see what I am doing with the jewelry, which was all of 18 and 21 cart gold.
Waiting for coaches to pick us up from one place to another, we would leave our luggage on the pavement where the coach is expected to come for us, and no one will stand guarding, and nothing was lost. In fact the luggage might be left on the pavement unattended for 2-3 hours.
The Penalty for stealing is very severe; however there is a minimum amount for applying this penalty. Cutting the right hand of the thief should be for stealing no less than 3 silver pieces or its value. Some Scholars consider it to be 10 silver pieces, which is just 2 silver pieces short of one gold coin, for the gold piece (Dinar) used to have 12 silver pieces (Dirham). Allah’s messenger prayer and piece upon him did not cut a hand for anything worth less than three Dirhams. Also Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said: “A hand should not be cut except for the value of a quarter of a dinar upwards”. (Muslim)
And he said also: “Cut (the hand) for the value of a quarter of a dinar and do not cut for less than that”. (Ahmed)
Abu Hanifa considers 10 Dirham to be the minimum value as Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said: “The hand of the thief should not be cut for less than the value of the Magen”. The Magen used to cost 10 Dirham at the time.
People may pardon each other to avoid apply the penalty of theft before the case reaches the ruler or the judge, for once the case reaches one of them, he has to proceed.
No intercession should take place over a penalty ordained by Allah. Meaning that once the thief is found guilty, no one should intercede for him or her. A woman from a tribe called Makhzoom stole at the time of Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him. Her family asked Osama Ibn Zeid to intercede for her with Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him. When he did, Allah’s messenger face changed, and he said to Osama sternly: “are you interceding in one of Hodod (penalties) of Allah the Exalted, the Majestic?’ Osama said: “Ask Allah to forgive me Allah’s messenger”. In the evening Allah’s messenger preached and said after praising Allah: “It made people before you perish that when one of their nobles steals, they would leave him, and when a weak person steals, they will apply the penalty. By Him who has my soul in his hand, if Fatima the daughter of Mohamed steals, I will cut her hand”. Then he ordered this woman to have her right hand cut off. (Bukhari & Muslim)
The thief should be found guilty without the shadow of doubt. For there is a rule in Islam that the Hodoud (penalties) are not to be applied if there is any doubt.
Once a penalty is applied in this life, it purifies the offender from the guilt and sin and therefore will not be punished for it in the Hereafter. Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said to a woman who had her hand after stealing jewellery: “You are just as the day you were born as far as your sin is concerned”. (Ahmed)
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