Whoever, being accountable and independent, steals a quarter of a dinar or more from protected property
Literal explanation: The word سَرِقه means “something stolen.” The chapter سَرَقَ يَسْرِقُ (strike) and chapter اِسْتَرَق يَسْتَرِقُ (form of ifti’al) mean to steal. سَارِق and سَرُوق refer to “thief.”
[Al-Munjid: p. 371, Al-Qamus Al-Muheet: p. 704]
Juristic definition: To come secretly to take someone’s property from its place of protection.
[Al-Qamus Al-Muheet: p. 804, Nayl Al-Awtar: 582/4]
➊ A man asked the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, about a goat that was stolen from its pasture, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
فيها ثمنها مرتين وضرب نكال وما أخذ من عطنه ففيه القطع إذا بلغ ما يؤخذ من ذلك ثمن المجن
“He must pay double the price and be punished as a deterrent, and if caught from its pen, his hand will be cut off if the stolen item reaches the value of a shield.”
Then he said, O Messenger of Allah! What is the ruling regarding fruits and what is taken from heaps? The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
من أخذ بفمه ولم يتخذ خبنة فليس عليه شيئ ومن احتمـل فـعـليـه القطع إذا بلغ ما يؤخذ من ذلك ثمن المجن
“Whoever takes it with his mouth and does not carry it away secretly, there is no blame on him; but whoever lifts and carries it away must pay double the price and be punished as a deterrent, and if the stolen item is taken from heaps of grain, his hand will be cut off if its value reaches that of a shield (three dirhams).”
[Hasan: Irwa’ Al-Ghalil: 2413, Ahmad: 180/2, Abu Dawood: 4390, Kitab Al-Hudud: Chapter on what does not incur cutting, Nasa’i: 84/8, Hakim: 381/4, Tirmidhi: 1289, Ibn Majah: 2596, Ibn Al-Jarood: 828, Bayhaqi: 278/8, Darqutni: 236/4]
It is established that if something is taken from a protected place, even if there is no wall around it, the thief’s hand will be cut off, as mentioned regarding heaps of grain and animal pens, and the value of a shield refers to three dirhams as found in authentic hadith.
[Bukhari: 6797, Muslim: 1686]
➋ Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, said that the Prophet, peace be upon him, cut off a man’s hand who stole a shield worth three dirhams.
[Ahmad: 80/2, Muslim: 1686, Kitab Al-Hudud: Chapter on theft and its nisab, Abu Dawood: 4386, Nasa’i: 76/8]
It is established that if a thief steals from a place other than someone’s home but from a common entry place, his hand will be cut off; it is not necessary to open closed doors.
Most scholars agree that for cutting the hand, the stolen item must be in protection. However, Imam Ahmad, Imam Ishaq, and the Zahiri school say this is not a condition, citing this hadith:
Safwan ibn Umayyah said that he was sleeping on his sheet in the mosque when it was stolen. Then they caught the thief and brought him before the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, who ordered his hand to be cut off. Safwan said, O Messenger of Allah! Will his hand be cut off for just a sheet worth thirty dirhams? I gave him that sheet as a gift. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
هلا كان قبل أن تاتيني به
“Why was this not done before bringing him to me?”
[Sahih: Sahih Abu Dawood: 3693, Kitab Al-Hudud: Chapter on those who steal from protected places, Abu Dawood: 4394, Ibn Majah: 2595, Ahmad: 466/6, Nasa’i: 69/8, Muwatta: 834/2, Bada’i’ Al-Manan by Al-Shafi’i: 1509, Hakim: 380/4]
This argument is not correct because the mosque itself is a protected place, and in addition, Ibn Umar’s hadith states that the sheet was under their heads.
[Nayl Al-Awtar: 582/4]
Meaning the sheet was in protection; therefore, it is established that protection of the item is a condition for cutting the hand.
(Hanafis) Fruits that are still on the tree and ripe, whether in a protected place or not, do not incur the punishment of cutting the hand. By analogy, they say that food items such as meat, milk, drinks, bread, etc., also do not incur the punishment of cutting the hand.
(Jamhur) The punishment of cutting the hand applies to every protected item, whether it has been cut or is still on the trees.
[Subul Al-Salam: 1709/4, Nayl Al-Awtar: 580/4]
(Preferred) The position of the Jamhur is correct because all previous hadiths support it.
(Shawkani) حرز means every thing in which the owner preserves or stores his ownership, and this applies to all items that people commonly use for protection of various things. For example, جرين for fruits (i.e., the heap where grain is dried), pens for livestock, specially locked places for cash money, similarly burial places are protection for what is buried in them, graves are protection for those inside them, and likewise mosques with their rows, mats, and various mosque tools are protection for them.
[Al-Sail Al-Jarrar: 360/4 – 361]
(Siddiq Hasan Khan) Protection (i.e., the item being in a protected place) is a condition for cutting the hand, and the reason is that what is not protected is considered lost property from which one must refrain.
[Al-Rawdah Al-Nadiyyah: 598/2]
➊ Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “The hand is cut off for an item worth a quarter of a dinar or more.”
[Bukhari: 6789, Kitab Al-Hudud: Chapter on the saying of Allah Almighty about the male and female thief, Muslim: 1684, Abu Dawood: 4383, Tirmidhi: 1445, Nasa’i: 78/8]
➋ In one narration, the words are:
لا تقطع يد السارق إلا فى ربع دينار فصاعدا
“The hand of the thief will not be cut off except for an item worth a quarter of a dinar or more.”
[Ahmad: 80/6, Muslim: 1684, Nasa’i: 80/8, Ibn Majah: 2585]
➌ In another narration:
اقطعوا فى ربع دينار ولا تقطعوا فى ما هو أدنى من ذلك وكان ربع دينار يـومـئـذ ثلاثة دراهم والدينار اثني عشر درهما
“Cut off the hand for a quarter of a dinar, and do not cut for less; at that time, a quarter of a dinar was equivalent to three dirhams, and one dinar was equivalent to twelve dirhams.”
[Ahmad: 80/6]
➍ Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
لا تقطع يد السارق فيما دون المجن
“The hand will not be cut off for less than the value of a shield.”
When asked what the value of a shield is, she said: “A quarter of a dinar.”
[Sahih: Sahih Nasa’i: 4583, Kitab Qat’ Al-Sariq: Chapter on the amount for which the thief’s hand is cut, Nasa’i: 4939]
➎ Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, said that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, cut off the hand for stealing a shield worth three dirhams.
[Bukhari: 6795, Kitab Al-Hudud: Chapter on the saying of Allah Almighty about the male and female thief, Muslim: 1686, Abu Dawood: 4385, Nasa’i: 76/8, Muwatta: 831/2, Tirmidhi: 1446]
(The Four Caliphs, Jamhur) The hand will be cut off for theft of three dirhams or a quarter of a dinar.
(Hanafis) The nisab for cutting the hand is ten dirhams. (Regarding this issue, Imam Shawkani cited eleven madhhabs and Hafiz Ibn Hajar cited nineteen madhhabs; those seeking details may refer to them.)
[Nayl Al-Awtar: 576/4 – 578, Fath Al-Bari: 61/14, Al-Um for Al-Shafi’i: 130/6, Al-Ikhtiyar: 103/4, Al-Mughni: 416/12, Bidayat Al-Mujtahid: 447/2]
(Preferred) The higher opinion is that of the two Jamhur because it aligns with authentic hadiths.
❀ There is a difference of opinion regarding whether the value of other items besides gold and silver should be calculated with either of these two.
(Malik) The value should be calculated with dirhams.
(Shafi’i) The value should be calculated with the original gold.
So his right hand will be cut off.
The command of Allah Almighty is:
وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُوا أَيْدِيَهُمَا [Al-Ma’idah: 38]
“Cut off the hands of the male and female thief.”
(Shawkani) Only the right hand will be cut off, and if he steals a second time, neither the hand nor the foot will be cut off.
[Al-Sail Al-Jarrar: 364/4]
(Shafi’i, Siddiq Hasan Khan) Scholars agree that when a thief steals for the first time, his right hand will be cut off; if he steals a second time, his left foot will be cut off; if he steals a third time, according to most important scholars, his left hand will be cut off; and if he steals again, his right foot will be cut off. After that, if he steals again, he will be punished and imprisoned.
(Abu Hanifa) His left hand and right foot will not be cut off, but he will be punished and imprisoned.
[Al-Rawdah Al-Nadiyyah: 601/2]
❀ The Prophet, peace be upon him, Abu Bakr, and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, used to cut off the thief’s hand from the joint (wrist).
