Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (14/335)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

one-sixteenth of a gram. Thus, if a person steals gold weighing one gram and one-sixteenth of a gram, his hand is amputated. This is based on the hadith of Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “There is no amputation except for [the theft of] one-quarter of a dinar or more.” It is recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim (1).

Accordingly, this hadith qualifies the general meaning of Allah’s saying:

“As for the thief, male and female, cut off their hands.” [al-Ma'idah 5:38]

Thus, there is no amputation for theft of less than the prescribed minimum.

His statement, “Or goods whose value equals either of the two”: goods means merchandise, such as a watch, a radio, a garment, and the like. If its value equals one-quarter of a dinar or three dirhams, the hand is amputated; otherwise, it is not.

If someone were to ask: There is a difference between one-quarter of a dinar and three dirhams, since three dirhams do not amount to one-quarter of a dinar. So, if the value of one-quarter of a dinar differs from that of three dirhams, which of the two should be used?

We say: according to the established school of law, the lesser of the two is taken. Thus, if a person steals merchandise worth three dirhams and one-eighth of a dinar, his hand is amputated according to the school.

And if silver were more valuable than gold, and he stole something worth a full dinar but not worth three dirhams, his hand would be amputated.

Thus, the prescribed minimum falls between one-quarter of a dinar and three dirhams, and the lesser amount is taken into consideration.

(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari in Kitab al-Hudud, chapter on Allah's saying, “As for the male thief and the female thief, cut off their hands” (6789); and by Muslim in Kitab al-Hudud, chapter on the prescribed punishment for theft and its minimum threshold (1684), on the authority of Aishah.

ربع الربع، فإذا سرق الإنسان من الذهب ما يزن غراماً وربع الربع قطع؛ وذلك لحديث عائشة ﵂: أن النبي ﷺ قال: «لا قطع إلا في ربع دينار فصاعداً»، وهو في الصحيحين (١)، وعلى هذا فيكون هذا الحديث مخصصاً لعموم قوله تعالى: ﴿وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُوا أَيدِيَهُمَا﴾ [المائدة: ٣٨]، فيكون ما دون النصاب لا قطع فيه. قوله: «أَوْ عَرَضٌ قِيمَتُهُ كَأَحَدِهِمَا» العرض هو المتاع، كساعة، وراديو، وثوب، وما أشبه ذلك، فإذا كانت قيمته تساوي ربع دينار، أو ثلاثة دراهم فإنه يقطع، وإلا فلا. فإذا قال قائل: هناك فرق بين ربع الدينار، وبين ثلاثة الدراهم؛ لأن ثلاثة الدراهم لا تبلغ ربع الدينار، فإذا اختلفت قيمة ربع الدينار، أو قيمة ثلاثة الدراهم، فبأيهما نأخذ؟ نقول: أما المذهب فتأخذ بأقلهما، فإذا سرق الإنسان متاعاً يساوي ثلاثة دراهم، ويساوي ثُمْن دينار، فإنه يقطع على المذهب. وإذا قدر أن الفضة أغلى من الذهب وسرق شيئاً يساوي ديناراً كاملاً، لكن لا يساوي ثلاثة دراهم فإنه يقطع. إذاً النصاب متردد بين ربع الدينار وبين ثلاثة دراهم، ونعتبر الأقل.

(١) أخرجه البخاري في الحدود باب قول الله تعالى: ﴿وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُوا أَيدِيَهُمَا﴾ (٦٧٨٩)، ومسلم في الحدود باب حد السرقة ونصاباً (١٦٨٤) عن عائشة ﵂.