Ibn Hibban

Sayyiduna Wasi’ bin Hibban (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A boy stole a date palm sapling from a garden. This case was presented before Marwan, so he ordered that the boy’s hand be cut off. Then Sayyiduna Rafi’ bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said: “The hand is not to be cut off for stealing fruit and palm shoots.” (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says: In the Book, the command regarding theft is general. Allah Almighty has said: “Cut off the hands of the male thief and the female thief.” So Allah Almighty has commanded that whenever a thief commits theft, his hand should be cut off. But then the Sunnah has clarified that the hand is not to be cut off for stealing fruit and palm shoots. The hand is only to be cut off when something worth a quarter dinar is stolen. So the meaning of the command in the Book is: Cut off their hands when they steal something worth a quarter dinar or something equivalent to it, and which is other than fruit and palm shoots.)