Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (14/355)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

then his hand is amputated, because he has no entitlement in the Muslims’ public treasury.

Or if a Muslim slave steals from the public treasury, his hand is amputated. However, later in the passage it will come that his hand is not amputated, because the slave has stolen from property from which his master would not have his hand amputated. Thus, if a Muslim slave belonging to a Muslim steals from the public treasury, his hand is not amputated, because he has stolen from property from which, had his master stolen, his hand would not have been amputated.

In summary, regarding theft from the public treasury: the basic ruling is amputation, unless there is a clear element of doubt—either because the person is poor or because he performs some service benefiting the Muslims, such as teaching, leading the prayer, and the like.

His statement, “or from war booty that has not been apportioned into fifths”: war booty is wealth taken from the disbelievers through fighting and what is assimilated to it. Such booty is divided into five shares: four of them belong to the combatants, while the remaining share is itself divided into five shares: one fifth for the public treasury, one fifth for the relatives, one fifth for the orphans, one fifth for the needy, and one fifth for the wayfarer. Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“And know that whatever you obtain of war booty—then indeed, one fifth of it is for Allah and for the Messenger, his near relatives, the orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer.” [al-Anfal: 41]

Thus, if someone steals from war booty that has not yet been apportioned into fifths, his hand is not amputated, because he has a potential entitlement to it. He is entitled to a share of one fifth of the fifth that is spent as fay’, namely, that which belonged to Allah and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him. But once the war booty has been divided into fifths, if he steals from the four fifths belonging to the combatants, is his hand amputated or not?

The answer is: if he is one of them, his hand is not amputated, because he has a right to the four fifths. If he is not one of them, his hand is amputated, because he has no right to them, no element of doubt, and no

فإنه يقطع؛ لأنه لا حق له في بيت مال المسلمين. أو سرق مسلم عبد من بيت المال فإنه يقطع؛ ولكن سيأتينا في آخر العبارة أنه لا يقطع، لأن العبد سرق من مالٍ لا يُقْطَعُ منه سيدُه، فإذا كان العبد المسلم لمسلم وسرق من بيت المال فإنه لا يقطع؛ لأنه سرق من مالٍ لو سرق منه سيده لم يقطع. الخلاصة في مسألة السرقة من بيت المال: أن الأصل فيها القطع، حتى توجد شبهة بينة، وهي إما فقره، أو قيامه بمصلحة من مصالح المسلمين، كالتدريس، والإمامة، وما أشبهها. قوله: «أو من غنيمة لم تُخَمَّس» الغنيمة هي المال المأخوذ من الكفار بقتال وما ألحق به، فهذه الغنيمة تقسم خمسة أسهم، أربعة منها للغانمين، وواحد منها يقسم إلى خمسة أسهم أيضاً؛ خمس لبيت المال، وخمس لذوي القربى، وخمس لليتامى، وخمس للمساكين، وخمس لابن السبيل، قال تعالى: ﴿وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَأَنَّ لِلَّهِ خُمُسَهُ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ﴾ [الأنفال: ٤١]. فإذا سرق من غنيمة لم تخمس فإنه لا يقطع؛ لأن له شبهة استحقاق، فإنه يستحق من خمس الخمس الذي يصرف في الفيء، وهو ما كان لله ورسوله ﷺ، فإن خمست الغنيمة، فإن سرق بعد تخميسها من الأخماس الأربعة التي للمقاتلين، فهل يقطع أو لا؟ الجواب: إن كان منهم لم يقطع؛ لأن له حقاً في الأربعة، وإن لم يكن منهم قطع؛ لأنه لا حق له فيها، ولا شبهة، ولا