Conditions for Cutting off the Thief’s Hand
Nine conditions are imposed for cutting off a thief’s hand:
(1) Theft: taking property that was kept hidden. If he snatches it or seizes it, then there is no hand-cutting in that case.
(2) The thief must be legally responsible (mukallaf); a hadd punishment is not obligatory on a child or a madman.
(3) The stolen property must reach the nisab and the prescribed limit for hand-cutting. There is no hand-cutting for less than the nisab. The nisab for theft is one quarter of a gold dinar, or any other item whose value equals that.
(4) The stolen item must be something that is generally treated as property (and through which wealth increases).
(5) The stolen item must be one free of any doubt (shubhah).
(6) He steals it from a protected place.
(7) He takes it out from a protected place.
(8) Before the judge, the theft is established either by the testimony of two just witnesses or by the thief’s confession.
(9) The owner of the stolen property comes forward and makes a claim.
Examining these conditions and applying them to a theft is the work of the Sharia court.
