Ḥadd of Theft for Denying Borrowed Property
By: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Evidence
Ibn ʿUmar (RA):A woman from the Makhzūm tribe used to borrow goods and then deny them.
“Fa-amara al-Nabiyyu ﷺ bi-qaṭʿi yadahā.”
“So the Prophet ﷺ ordered that her hand be cut off.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 3694; Aḥmad: 2/151; Abū Dāwūd: 4395; al-Nasā’ī: 8/70; Mushkil al-Āthār: 3/97]
❖ Scholarly Opinions
- Imām Aḥmad, Isḥāq, Ibn Ḥazm, Ahl al-Ẓāhir: Hand is cut for denial of borrowed property.
- Jumhūr (Majority): No hand-cutting, since Qur’ān commands cutting for sarqah (theft), and this is not theft in the linguistic sense.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/585; al-Muḥallā: 12/358] - Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله): Denial of borrowed items is included in theft.
[Zād al-Maʿād: 5/50] - Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān (رحمه الله): Linguistically not theft, but legally (sharʿan) it is theft, and Sharīʿah takes precedence over language.
[al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/605] - al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله): This ḥadīth also applies to one who denies an amānah (entrusted deposit). He is a thief, and his hand should be cut, even though other proofs restrict ḥadd to cases involving ḥirz (safekeeping).
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/586]
❖ Conclusion
- The sounder view is that of Imām Aḥmad and those with him, as it aligns directly with the ḥadīth.
- Reports suggesting she stole a cloth from the Prophet’s house are weak and do not override the ṣaḥīḥ narration.
