No Ḥadd of Theft for the Traitor, Usurper, or Snatcher
By: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Evidence
Jābir (RA):
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
“Laysa ʿalā khāʾin wa lā muntahib wa lā mukhtalis qaṭʿ.”
“The hand of a traitor, a usurper, or a snatcher is not to be cut.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 2403; Aḥmad: 3/380; Abū Dāwūd: 4391; al-Nasā’ī: 8/88; Ibn Mājah: 2591; al-Ḥākim: 4/382; Ibn Ḥibbān: 4457; al-Bayhaqī: 8/279]
❖ Scholarly Opinions
- Shāfiʿiyyah, Ḥanafiyyah: No hand-cutting for treachery, usurpation, or snatching.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/835] - Imām Aḥmad (رحمه الله): Hand is cut even in these cases.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/583] - al-Nawawī (رحمه الله): Al-Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ explained that Allāh obligated hand-cutting for theft (saraqah) only, not for ghasb (usurpation), intihāb (seizing), or ikhtilās (snatching).
[Sharḥ Muslim: 6/199]
Rājiḥ: The first opinion (no hand-cutting) is correct, as supported by authentic ḥadīth.
❖ Vocabulary
- Khāʾin (خائن): One who deceitfully gains property entrusted to him.
- Muntahib (منتهب): One who seizes wealth by force and dominance.
- Mukhtalis (مختلس): One who suddenly snatches away someone’s property.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/834; Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/583; al-Nihāyah: 2/61]
Conclusion:- Ḥadd (cutting of the hand) applies only to theft (sarqah), not to betrayal, usurpation, or snatching.
- These acts are punishable under taʿzīr (discretionary punishment), but not ḥadd.
