1074 – ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAwf (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The thief is not held financially liable once the prescribed punishment has been carried out against him.” Al-Nasāʾī narrated it and stated that its chain is interrupted, and Abū Ḥātim said, “It is munkar.” (1)

Hadith grading:
The chain is interrupted (munqaṭiʿ).
The compiler writes: Al-Nasāʾī transmitted the report and clarified that it is munqaṭiʿ because it passes through al-Miswar b. Ibrāhīm b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAwf, and al-Miswar did not meet his grandfather ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. Abū Ḥātim also narrated it and declared it munkar. Al-Bayhaqī narrated it as well and pointed out an additional defect.

Vocabulary:
• “does not bear liability (lā yaghram)”—with a fatḥa on the yāʾ, a sukun on the ghayn, and a fatḥa on the rāʾ; from gharima–yaghramu. It means he would have to pay the value of what he stole if the stolen item itself is no longer found.

Points derived from the hadith:

1. A thief is subject to two separate rights:
   – A private right: the stolen object itself if it still exists, or its equivalent or value if it has perished.
   – A public right belonging to Allah Most High: the amputation of the hand once the conditions for ḥadd are met, or a discretionary punishment (taʿzīr) if those conditions are incomplete.
2. If the stolen article is still present, the four leading imams and others unanimously agree that it must be returned to its owner; enforcing the public right alone does not suffice as a substitute for this restitution.