the price of a shield.” As for consensus, it is a matter of essential religious knowledge among Muslims that a thief’s hand is cut off when the theft meets the conditions and requirements without which amputation is not valid. There is therefore no need to cite the scholars’ explicit statements affirming this.
Section
The Matters to Which the Conditions for Cutting Off a Thief’s Hand Relate
The conditions for cutting off a thief’s hand relate to the thief, the stolen item, the place from which it was stolen, and the manner of the theft.
Five conditions relate to the thief: he must have reached puberty; he must be sane; he must not own the person from whom he steals; he must not be an ancestor of that person—although our scholars differ regarding this condition, since Ashhab holds that a grandfather is subject to amputation if he steals from his grandchild’s property; and he must not be driven to steal by hunger.
Four conditions relate to the stolen item. It must reach the minimum value prescribed for amputation, and it must be something regarded as property whose sale is lawful. If it is neither regarded as property nor lawful to sell, there is agreement that no amputation is imposed for stealing it, except in the case of a young free child, according to Ibn al-Qāsim’s view and his report from Mālik, contrary to Ibn al-Mājishūn’s position. If it is something that may lawfully be owned but not sold, such as a dog that one is permitted to keep or the meat of sacrificial animals, Ibn al-Qāsim and Ashhab differ over this. The thief must also have neither an ownership interest nor a semblance of ownership in it, although our scholars differ over whether a semblance of ownership is taken into account, as in the case of someone who steals from war booty and similar cases. Finally, it must be something that can actually be stolen, since no amputation is imposed for taking something that cannot actually be stolen, such as a slave.
One condition relates to the place from which the item is stolen: the place must constitute secure custody for the property or stolen item.
Two conditions relate to the manner of the theft: the first is that he remove the item