The punishment for theft

It is narrated from al-Harith bin Abdullah bin Abi Rabi'ah and Ibn Sabit al-Ahwal (may Allah have mercy on them both) that a slave was brought into the noble presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it was said that he had stolen; the evidence against him had been established and the stolen property had also been recovered from him. (Hearing this) the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "This is the slave of orphans who have no other (support) besides him," and so he (peace and blessings be upon him) let him go. Then he was brought a second, third and fourth time (for the same crime), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) let him go all four times; but when he was brought the fifth time, he (peace and blessings be upon him) cut off his hand, then the sixth time he cut off his foot, then the seventh time his (other) hand and the eighth time his (other) foot. Al-Harith said: This matter was four against four, in that he (peace and blessings be upon him) pardoned him four times and punished him four times.
This narration is mursal, because al-Harith and Ibn Sabit are not Companions but Successors. Furthermore, Imam al-Harith narrated it through Abd al-Wahhab bin Ata' from Ibn Jurayj, and Hammad bin Mas'adah also narrated it from Ibn Jurayj. Likewise, Imam Abu Dawud recorded it in his book 'al-Marasil' through the route of Muhammad bin Sulayman al-Anbari, and Imam al-Baghawi in his 'Mu'jam' through Harun bin Abdullah, from Hammad bin Mas'adah.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Amr bin Uthman bin al-Hadrami (may Allah have mercy on him) that he came to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) with a slave of his who had stolen, and said that this slave had stolen a mirror belonging to his household, worth more than sixty dirhams. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said (instead of carrying out the hadd for theft on him), "Your servant has taken your own property."

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman bin Thawban that a man who had stolen a sheet was brought into the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him, "Did you steal? I did not think you would steal." He said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" He (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered, "Take him away and cut off his hand, then cauterise the place of the cut, and then bring him to me." So the Companions cut off his hand, cauterised it and then brought him to him (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed him, "Repent to Allah." He said, "I repent to Allah." He (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated in these words: 'Allahumma tub 'alayh' (O Allah, accept his repentance).
Imam Abu Dawud narrated this hadith in 'al-Marasil' in the same way through Ahmad bin Abdah from Sufyan bin Uyaynah, from Yazid bin Khusayfah; while Imam al-Bazzar narrated it through Ahmad bin Aban from Abd al-Aziz al-Darawardi, from Yazid bin Khusayfah, and said in it: I think it is only from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). Furthermore, Imam al-Daraqutni narrated it through the route of Ya'qub al-Dawraqi with a connected chain from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) without any doubt, and Imam al-Daraqutni stated: It has reached me that Muhammad bin Ishaq also narrated it from Yazid bin Khusayfah with a connected chain.

It is narrated from Imam al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), leading another man whom he had seized, who had stolen his cloak. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered (once the crime was proven) that his hand be cut off. Seeing this, the man said (with regret), "O Messenger of Allah! I had no idea at all that the value of this cloak of mine would reach such a limit that a Muslim's hand would be cut off for it." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Then why was this (spirit of pardon and forbearance) not awakened before this?"
This hadith is mursal, and all its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy) and reliable.

It is narrated from Ibn Abi Mulaykah that a young servant of Umar bin Abdullah bin Abi Rabi'ah who had stolen was brought before Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both). At his (may Allah be pleased with him) order he was measured in hand-spans and was found to be six spans tall, so he (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered his hand to be cut off (on the basis of his having reached the threshold of maturity).
Likewise this narration was also related: a letter was written to Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) about a boy from Iraq who had stolen, and he (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote in reply, "If you find him to be six spans tall, cut off his hand." When he was measured, he was found to be six spans less one fingertip (one joint of a finger), so on that basis he was let go, and in connection with this concession he came to be named 'Numaylah' (little fingertip).

It is narrated from Sulayman bin Yasar (may Allah have mercy on him) that a boy who had committed theft was brought before the Commander of the Believers, Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him). He (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered him to be measured, and his height was found to be six spans less one fingertip, so he (may Allah be pleased with him) refrained from (carrying out the hadd, owing to the doubt about his being a minor), and in connection with this he became known by the name 'Numaylah' (the one of the fingertip).
From this report the jurists infer that the offender's having reached the age of maturity is a condition for carrying out the hadd punishments, and that in that era physical measurement was also regarded as one criterion for recognising maturity.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said (regarding the carrying out of the hadd punishments), "I do not cut off more than one hand and one foot (as a hadd)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him), who is a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Whoever steals, cut off his hand; then if he commits theft again, cut off his foot; then if he steals (a third time), cut off his hand; and if he steals a fourth time as well, cut off his foot."

Abu Matar narrates: I saw Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) when a man was brought to him, and the people said that he had stolen a camel. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), (seeking a way to spare him,) said to him, "I do not think you have stolen." He replied, "Yes indeed (I did)." He said again, "Perhaps it merely seemed so to you (and in reality it was not theft)?" He said, "No, I really did steal." He said, "O Qanbar! Take him away, bind his finger (tightly), light the fire and call the butcher so that he may cut (the hand); then wait until I come." When Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) came, he asked him (again), "Did you steal?" He replied, "No." So he let him go. The people said, "O Commander of the Believers! Why did you let him go when he had confessed before you?" He said, "I took him on his own word (his confession), and now I have let him go on his own word (his denial)." Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said (explaining this approach): A thief was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered his hand to be cut off and then wept. We said, "O Messenger of Allah! Why are you weeping?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "How can I not weep when the limbs of my Ummah are being cut off before you?" The Companions said, "O Messenger of Allah! Did you not pardon him?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "That is an evil ruler who pardons in the hadd punishments (after the case has been proven in court); rather, you should pardon one another in matters of the hadd punishments among yourselves (before the matter reaches the ruler)."
This blessed hadith establishes the great juristic principle that in matters of the hadd punishments the hadd is dropped on the basis of doubts, and that a punishment given solely on the basis of a confession lapses if the confession is retracted; it also encourages resolving criminal matters at the social level through mutual pardon and reconciliation before they reach the ruler.