And nothing remains for them except the painful, agonizing, everlasting punishment from which they will never emerge; rather, they will abide therein forever.
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(38–40) “As for the male thief and the female thief, cut off their hands as recompense for what they have earned and as a deterrent from Allah. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. * But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms, Allah will accept his repentance. Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. * Do you not know that to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth? He punishes whomever He wills and forgives whomever He wills. Allah has power over all things.”
A thief is one who secretly takes the legally protected property of another without the owner’s consent. Theft is one of the major sins warranting a severe punishment: the amputation of the right hand, as stated in the reading of some Companions.
When the word “hand” is used without qualification, its boundary is the wrist. Thus, when a person steals, his hand is amputated at the wrist, and the stump is cauterized with oil so that the blood vessels seal and the bleeding stops. The sunnah, however, restricts the general wording of this verse in several respects:
One is secure custody: the theft must be from a place of secure custody. What constitutes secure custody for any kind of property is whatever ordinarily safeguards it. If something is stolen from a place where it was not secured, there is no amputation.
Another is that the stolen property must reach the minimum legal threshold: one-quarter of a dinar, three dirhams, or an amount equal in value to either. If the stolen amount is less than that, there is no amputation.
This may perhaps be inferred from the wording and meaning of “theft,” for theft means taking something in a manner that circumvents precautions, which presupposes that the property was securely stored. If it was not secured, taking it would not constitute theft in the legal sense.
Another aspect of wisdom is that a hand should not be amputated for something meager and insignificant. Since a quantitative threshold must therefore be set, the threshold prescribed by the Sacred Law qualifies the general wording of the Book.
The wisdom behind amputating the hand for theft is to protect and safeguard property and to sever the limb through which the offense was committed. If the thief reoffends, his left foot is amputated. If he reoffends again, one view holds that his left hand and then his right foot are to be amputated, while another holds that he is to be imprisoned until he dies. Regarding His words, “as recompense for what they have earned,” this amputation is the thief’s recompense for stealing people’s property.
“As a deterrent from Allah” means an exemplary punishment and warning to the thief and others, so that thieves—knowing that their hands will be cut off if they steal—may desist.
“Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.” That is, He is supreme in might and decrees with wisdom; thus, He ordained the amputation of the thief’s hand.
“But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms, Allah will accept his repentance. Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” Thus, He forgives whoever repents, abandons sins, reforms his conduct, and corrects his faults.
That is because to Allah (1) belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He disposes of both as He wills through His cosmic decrees and religious legislation, granting forgiveness or imposing punishment in accordance with what His wisdom, vast mercy, and forgiveness require.