Chapter on Amputation for Theft

"If a legally accountable person takes property amounting to the nisab from the sort of secure place ordinarily used for it, property that is inviolable and to which he has no legitimate claim, and he does so covertly, his hand is to be cut off." Therefore no amputation is carried out against a snatcher (muntahib), a grab-and-runner (mukhtalis), a usurper (ghasib), or anyone who betrays a trust—whether a deposit, a loan, or anything similar. By contrast, the professional pickpocket who slits a pocket or the like and removes something from it is subject to amputation.

The stolen article must also be property that is legally respected; hence there is no amputation for taking a musical instrument or any prohibited item such as wine.

The nisab is three dirhams, one-quarter of a dinar, or merchandise whose value equals either of the two. Should the item’s value later fall, or should the thief subsequently acquire ownership of it, the penalty is not annulled. Its value is assessed at the moment it is removed from the place of safekeeping. Consequently, if he slaughters a ram inside that place, or tears a garment within it so that its value drops below the nisab and then brings it out—or if the property perishes while still inside—he is not to have his hand cut off.