Ḥadd of Theft: Conditions, Nisāb, and Requirement of Ḥirz (Safekeeping)
By: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Linguistic and Sharʿī Definition
- Saraqah (سرقة): Stolen property.
- Sāriq (سارق): Thief.
- Sharʿī Definition: Taking another’s wealth secretly from a place of safekeeping.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/582]
❖ Evidence from Ḥadīth
➊ A man asked the Prophet ﷺ about a goat stolen from its grazing place. He ﷺ said:
“Fīhā thamanuhā marratayn wa ḍarb nakāl. Wa mā ukhidha min ʿaṭnihi fīhi al-qaṭʿ idhā balagha thaman al-mijn.”
“In that case, the thief pays double its value and receives corporal punishment. But if taken from its pen, the hand is cut if its value equals the price of a shield.”
He further said about fruits:
“…man akhadha bifamihi wa lam yattaḳhidh khubnah falaysa ʿalayhi shayʾ. Wa man iḥtamal fa-ʿalayhi al-qaṭʿ idhā balagha thaman al-mijn.”
[Ḥasan: Aḥmad: 2/180; Abū Dāwūd: 4390; al-Nasā’ī: 8/84; al-Ḥākim: 4/381]
➋ ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (RA):
The Prophet ﷺ cut the hand of a man who stole a shield worth three dirhams.
[Muslim: 1686; Abū Dāwūd: 4386; al-Nasā’ī: 8/76]
❖ Requirement of Ḥirz (Safekeeping)
- Theft is only punishable by ḥadd if the stolen item was in a place of safekeeping (ḥirz).
- Examples: barns for livestock, storage for grain, coffers for money, graves for buried items, and mosques for rugs and items.
[al-Sayl al-Jarrār: 4/360–361; al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/598]
❖ Nisāb (Minimum Value for Ḥadd)
➊ ʿĀʾishah (RA):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Lā tuqṭaʿ yad al-sāriq illā fī rubʿ dīnār fa-ṣāʿidan.”
“The hand of a thief is not cut except for a quarter dinar or more.”
[al-Bukhārī: 6789; Muslim: 1684]
➋ She further explained:
The value of a shield was a quarter dinar (equal to three dirhams).
[al-Nasā’ī: 4583]
➌ Ibn ʿUmar (RA):
The Prophet ﷺ cut the hand of a thief for a shield worth three dirhams.
[al-Bukhārī: 6795; Muslim: 1686]
- Jumhūr (Majority, incl. Khulafāʾ al-Rāshidīn): Nisāb is a quarter dinar or three dirhams.
- Ḥanafīs: Nisāb is ten dirhams.
- Imām Shawkānī listed 11 views; Ibn Ḥajar cited 19.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/576–578; Fatḥ al-Bārī: 14/61]
Rājiḥ: The majority opinion (¼ dinar or 3 dirhams) matches the ṣaḥīḥ aḥādīth.
❖ Which Hand to Cut?
Qur’ān:
﴿وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُوا أَيْدِيَهُمَا﴾ [al-Mā’idah: 38]
“Cut off the hand of the male thief and the female thief.”
- First offense: Right hand.
- Second offense: Left foot.
- Third offense: Majority say left hand, then right foot.
- Abū Ḥanīfah: Only the right hand is cut; further thefts incur taʿzīr (discretionary punishment) and imprisonment.
[al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/601]
The Prophet ﷺ, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar (RA) all cut the hand from the wrist joint.
Conclusion:- Ḥadd applies when:
① Stolen item is in safekeeping (ḥirz).
② Value is at least ¼ dinar (≈ 3 dirhams).
③ The thief is sane, mature, and not coerced. - First theft = cut right hand; repeated thefts = escalating punishments.
