Ḥadd of Theft: Recommendation of Pardon and Treatment
✍ Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
❀ Encouragement to Pardon and Treat the Injured Part
It is recommended (mustaḥabb) to encourage the person authorized to pardon the punishment, and once the hand is cut, proper medical treatment should be administered.
◈ Relevant Evidences
➊ A narration states:
ادرء وا الحدود بالشبهات
"Repel the ḥudūd punishments in cases of doubt."
[Ḍaʿīf: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 2316]
➋ Hazrat Abū Umayyah Makhzūmī (رضي الله عنه) reported:
A thief was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ). He confessed but no stolen property was found with him. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him:
ما إخالك سرقت؟
"I do not think you have stolen."
He replied: "Indeed, I have" — two or three times. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
اقطعوه ثم جيئو به
"Cut off his hand, then bring him to me."
[Ḍaʿīf: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 2426; Aḥmad: 5/293; Abū Dāwūd: 4380, Kitāb al-Ḥudūd, Bāb fī al-Talqīn fī al-Ḥadd; Nasāʾī: 4877; Ibn Mājah: 2597; Dārimī: 2/173; Bayhaqī: 8/276. Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) said its narrators are trustworthy — Bulūgh al-Marām: 271]
➌ Imām ʿAṭāʾ (رحمه الله) said:
Those who had passed before us, when a thief was brought to them, they used to say:
أسرقت؟ قل لا
"Did you steal? Say no."
He then mentioned the names of Hazrat Abū Bakr (رضي الله عنه) and Hazrat ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه).
[ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 10/224]
➍ Hazrat ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه):
When a man was brought before him, he said:
أسرقت؟ قل لا
"Did you steal? Say no."
He said: "No." So Hazrat ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) let him go.
[ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 18920]
➎ A similar incident is also narrated from Hazrat Abū Hurairah (رضي الله عنه).
[Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 4/126; Bayhaqī: 8/276]
◈ Scholarly Conclusion
Imām Shawkānī (رحمه الله) states:
This proves that encouraging such words which may avert the ḥadd punishment is mustaḥabb.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/587]
◈ Medical Treatment After Amputation
The Prophet (ﷺ) said about a thief:
اذهبوا به فاقطعوه ثم احسموه
"Take him away, cut off his hand, then cauterize it."
[Ḍaʿīf: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 2431; Dāraquṭnī: 3/102; Ḥākim: 4/381; Bayhaqī: 8/275; Kashf al-Astār lil-Bazzār: 1560. Imām Ibn Qaṭṭān (رحمه الله) graded it ṣaḥīḥ — Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 1776]
Although this narration is weak, if treatment is not administered, the thief’s life could be endangered. Protecting his life is the duty of all Muslims, and this also falls under cooperation in righteousness.
Allah Almighty says:
وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ [al-Māʾidah: 2]
"And cooperate in righteousness and piety."
◈ Financial Responsibility
❀ The one who carries out the amputation is to be paid wages, and the cost of medicines and treatment is to be borne by the Bayt al-Māl (public treasury).
[Subul al-Salām: 4/1711; Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/589]
