Thus, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—mentioned judges, witnesses, and litigants; these are the pillars of adjudication.

In the two Sahih collections (1), Aisha—may Allah be pleased with her—reported that Quraysh were greatly troubled by the case of the Makhzūmī woman who had stolen. They said, “Who will speak to the Messenger of Allah on her behalf?” They then said, “Who would dare approach him except Usāma ibn Zayd?” He said, “O Usāma, are you interceding concerning one of Allah’s prescribed punishments? [أ/ق 26] The Children of Israel were destroyed only because, when a person of high standing among them stole, they let him go, but when someone of low standing stole, they enforced the prescribed punishment against him. By Him in whose hand is Muhammad’s soul, if Fātima, the daughter of Muhammad, were to steal, I would cut off her hand.”

There is a lesson in this account. The two noblest clans of Quraysh were Banū Makhzūm and Banū Abd Manāf. When this woman became liable to have her hand cut off because of her theft—which consisted in her denying that she had borrowed the item