سُوْرَةُ المَآئِدَةِ
Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 38
وَٱلسَّارِقُ وَٱلسَّارِقَةُ فَٱقْطَعُوٓا۟ أَيْدِيَهُمَا جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَـٰلًا مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ﴿38﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And (as for) the male thief and the female thief, cut off (from the wrist joint) their (right) hands as a recompense for that which they committed, a punishment by way of example from Allâh. And Allâh is All-Powerful, All-Wise.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَٱلسَّارِقُ
wal-sāriqu
And (for) the male thief
وَٱلسَّارِقَةُ
wal-sāriqatu
and the female thief
فَٱقْطَعُوٓا۟
fa-iq'ṭaʿū
[then] cut off
أَيْدِيَهُمَا
aydiyahumā
their hands
جَزَآءًۢ
jazāan
(as) a recompense
بِمَا
bimā
for what
كَسَبَا
kasabā
they earned
نَكَـٰلًۭا
nakālan
(as) an exemplary (punishment)
مِّنَ
mina
from
ٱللَّهِ ۗ
l-lahi
Allah
وَٱللَّهُ
wal-lahu
And Allah
عَزِيزٌ
ʿazīzun
(is) All-Mighty
حَكِيمٌۭ
ḥakīmun
All-Wise
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 38) ➊ {وَ السَّارِقُ وَ السَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُوْۤا اَيْدِيَهُمَا …… :} In the previous verse, the punishment for those who wage war (who commit robbery and spread corruption) was mentioned; now in this verse, the legal punishment for theft is stated, that whether it is a man or a woman, their hands should be cut off. The details of this are found in the hadith; Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The hand of a thief should not be cut off except for a quarter of a dinar or more." [ مسلم، الحدود، باب حد السرقۃ و نصابھا : ۲؍۱۶۸۴ ]
➋ The thief can be pardoned before being brought to the ruler, but not after. A thief who had stolen a sheet was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he ordered his hand to be cut off. The owner of the sheet, Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him), said: "O Messenger of Allah! My intention was not (to have his hand cut off); my sheet is charity for him." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Why did you not (give this charity) before bringing him to me?" [ ابن ماجہ، الحدود، باب من سرق من الحرز : ۲۵۹۵ قال الألبانی صحیح ] Some people have invented many tricks to nullify the legal punishment for theft; among them, there are two tricks in the presence of which no thief's hand can ever be cut off. One is that after going to court, if the owner of the stolen property gifts the stolen item to the thief or sells it to him, then the hand will not be cut off, even though this is in clear contradiction to the authentic hadith. The second is that if the crime of theft is proven against the thief with witnesses, the thief claims that the stolen property is his own, then his hand will not be cut off, even if he does not present any evidence of his ownership. The one who wrote this trick wrote that the objection from the opposing side is that in this way, no thief would be unable to make a false claim; every thief would claim to be the owner, and the legal punishment for theft would be abolished altogether. He answered this by saying that only scholars know this, thieves do not, so there is no worry about the punishment being abolished. The reality is that due to such tricks, the legal punishments of Allah were abolished in Muslim governments, as a result of which oppression and injustice increased beyond limits, and then foreigners became dominant over the Muslims. The remedy for this is the proper re-implementation of the legal punishments of Allah.
➌ {جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَالًا مِّنَ اللّٰهِ:} This is both the punishment for his sin and a lesson from Allah Almighty, so that for the rest of his life, he serves as a deterrent and reminder for people to refrain from theft, that this is Allah Almighty's command regarding the thief. Even if he were killed, this lesson could not be achieved.
➋ The thief can be pardoned before being brought to the ruler, but not after. A thief who had stolen a sheet was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he ordered his hand to be cut off. The owner of the sheet, Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him), said: "O Messenger of Allah! My intention was not (to have his hand cut off); my sheet is charity for him." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Why did you not (give this charity) before bringing him to me?" [ ابن ماجہ، الحدود، باب من سرق من الحرز : ۲۵۹۵ قال الألبانی صحیح ] Some people have invented many tricks to nullify the legal punishment for theft; among them, there are two tricks in the presence of which no thief's hand can ever be cut off. One is that after going to court, if the owner of the stolen property gifts the stolen item to the thief or sells it to him, then the hand will not be cut off, even though this is in clear contradiction to the authentic hadith. The second is that if the crime of theft is proven against the thief with witnesses, the thief claims that the stolen property is his own, then his hand will not be cut off, even if he does not present any evidence of his ownership. The one who wrote this trick wrote that the objection from the opposing side is that in this way, no thief would be unable to make a false claim; every thief would claim to be the owner, and the legal punishment for theft would be abolished altogether. He answered this by saying that only scholars know this, thieves do not, so there is no worry about the punishment being abolished. The reality is that due to such tricks, the legal punishments of Allah were abolished in Muslim governments, as a result of which oppression and injustice increased beyond limits, and then foreigners became dominant over the Muslims. The remedy for this is the proper re-implementation of the legal punishments of Allah.
➌ {جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَالًا مِّنَ اللّٰهِ:} This is both the punishment for his sin and a lesson from Allah Almighty, so that for the rest of his life, he serves as a deterrent and reminder for people to refrain from theft, that this is Allah Almighty's command regarding the thief. Even if he were killed, this lesson could not be achieved.
