of the Kaaba and the lamps of mosques; the explicitly transmitted position from him concerns the curtain of the Kaaba. If he steals a young slave who lacks understanding, or a non-Arabic-speaking slave who does not understand, his hand is amputated. But if he steals a free person, his hand is not amputated—this is explicitly stated. Ṣāliḥ transmitted from him: “If he steals a very young boy, his hand is amputated.”

The requirement that property be kept in a secure place is taken into account in determining whether amputation is obligatory. The required level of security varies according to the type of property, with custom serving as the criterion. Security is relaxed for low-value wood and firewood and made more stringent for high-value silver and gold. The secure place for wood is therefore not treated like the secure place for gold: the thief who steals wood from the former is subjected to amputation, whereas the thief who steals silver or gold from it is not. The grave robber is subjected to amputation if he steals the shrouds of the dead. The same applies to one who denies having borrowed property.

If a man ties his belongings to a moving animal—as is customary—and a thief steals from those belongings something worth a quarter of a dinar, his hand is amputated. But if he steals the animal and what is upon it, his hand is not amputated, because he has stolen the secure place together with the property secured in it. Ahmad said, in a narration from Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad, concerning the chests in the marketplace: “They are a secure place. If he carries one away as it is, or puts his hand inside it, he is a thief and is liable to amputation.”

If he steals a vessel made of silver or gold, his hand is amputated, even though using such a vessel is prohibited, because there is disagreement over possessing such vessels.