his own—and even if he ends up taking nothing at all, no amputation is carried out.

Whoever puts only his hand into a ḥirz (secure enclosure) without entering it himself, pulls out property whose value reaches the statutory limit, and brings it outside, has his hand cut.

Likewise, if someone enters a ḥirz, throws an item whose value warrants amputation to the outside, and then takes it while he is still inside, he is liable to have his hand cut.

According to Mālik and his companions, what qualifies as a ḥirz varies with the kind of property involved. Everything that is surrounded by a wall or locked up—houses, shops, and the like—or anything that customarily serves as a place of safekeeping counts as a ḥirz: a locked inner door of a residence, timber stacked in the courtyard, tethered livestock that someone is assigned to watch, merchandise placed in the marketplaces or in the courtyards of mosques under the eye of their owners, sheep gathered for sale, the padlocks of warehouses, ships moored at their berth, bales of goods strapped to the backs of camels, the baggage and animals in a caravan’s encampment or in its train, as well as whatever a person keeps in his sleeve, ties into his garment, or places beneath his head while sleeping—all of this is considered a ḥirz.

A single room inside a house that its owner and family actually occupy is not deemed a ḥirz until the thief carries the stolen article out of the entire house. A room located in a boarding house or other communal dwelling, however, is a ḥirz for what it contains. No amputation is inflicted on a resident who steals from the common courtyard of a jointly occupied house, because his situation resembles that of a dishonest trustee: he had permission to be there.

The hand is likewise not cut for one who steals belongings left in a public bath, the khifāq (light articles used at banquets and large gatherings), or garments spread out on a riverbank—unless, in any of these places, whether the bathhouse or elsewhere, a guard has been appointed to watch the items. If a guard is present, the thief’s hand is cut once the value of what he stole reaches the prescribed amount. This concession in the bathhouse applies only to someone who was permitted to enter it; as for one who tunnels through the wall and removes garments from within,