his wife, or his master, or from the Muslims’ public treasury.

The ḥadd is established only by the testimony of two witnesses, or by two separate confessions in which the thief describes the act after being questioned (1).

Once amputation becomes obligatory, his right hand is cut off at the wrist joint and the stump is cauterized. Whoever steals fruit or the like directly from a tree must pay double its value; no amputation is carried out.

Section [On the ḥadd for highway robbery]

1. Whoever waylays travellers, kills them, and seizes their property is put to death and then crucified until the matter becomes public.
2. If he kills but does not take property, he is definitely put to death without crucifixion.
3. If he does not kill but takes an amount that warrants amputation for theft, his right hand and left foot are cut off in a single session, and both stumps are cauterized.
4. If they neither kill nor take property, they are exiled and dispersed, never allowed to settle together in one town.

Whoever repents before falling into the authorities’ power is relieved of the rights of Allah—banishment, amputation, and crucifixion—while retaliation by killing and restitution for private claims remain compulsory unless the aggrieved party forgives.

An assailant is to be repelled with the lightest force that will suffice; if he cannot be repelled except by killing, no liability is incurred. One must defend his own life and honor, though not his property; the same ruling applies to someone who breaks into a house as a thief.