Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Ma'idah Verse 38

Mufti Taqi Usmani

As for a man or a woman who commits theft, cut off the hands of both to punish them for what they earned,-a deterrent punishment from Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

As for male and female thieves, cut off their hands for what they have done—a deterrent from Allah. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.[[ In Islam, strict conditions must be met for punishments to be carried out. For example, for someone to be punished for theft, the thief must be a sane adult who knows that theft is forbidden, the crime has to be proven either by confession or the testimony of two reliable eyewitnesses, the stolen item has to be of value and taken secretly from a safe place, and the owner has to claim it. Otherwise, the punishment is not applied. Islamic punishments apply neither in non-Muslim countries nor in Muslim countries where Sharî’ah is not fully applied. Moreover, the punishment is only applicable in a society where the needs of the poor are adequately met (i.e., they receive alms-tax, charity, or welfare) and where theft is more out of desire than necessity. It is worth mentioning that ’Umar ibn Al-Khaṭṭâb, Islam’s 2nd Caliph, suspended this punishment for one year due to widespread famine.]]

Ruwwad Translation Center

As for the thief, male or female, amputate their hands as a deterrent punishment from Allah for what they have done. Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.

A. J. Arberry

And the thief, male and female: cut off the hands of both, as a recompense for what they have earned, and a punishment exemplary from God; God is All-mighty, All-wise.

Abdul Haleem

Cut off the hands of thieves, whether they are man or woman, as punishment for what they have done- a deterrent from God: God is almighty and wise.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

As for the man-thief and the woman-thief, cut off their hands as a meed for that which they have earned; an exemplary punishment from Allah. And Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

As to the thief, Male or female, cut off his or her hands; a punishment by way of example, from Allah, for their crime; and Allah is Exalted in power.

Abul Ala Maududi

As for the thief -male or female - cut off the hands of both. This is a recompense for what they have done, and an exemplary punishment from Allah. Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.

Ahmed Ali

As for the thief, whether man or woman, cut his hand as punishment from God for what he had done; and God is all mighty and all wise.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And cut off the hands of those men or women who are thieves – a recompense of their deeds, a punishment from Allah; and Allah is Almighty, Wise.

Ali Quli Qarai

As for the thief, man or woman, cut off their hands as a requital for what they have earned. [That is] an exemplary punishment from Allah, and Allah is all-mighty, all-wise.

Ali Ünal

And for the thief, male or female: cut off their hands as a recompense for what they have earned, and an exemplary deterrent punishment from God. God is All-Glorious with irresistible might, All-Wise.

Amatul Rahman Omar

And as for the man addicted to theft and the woman addicted to theft, cut off their hands in retribution of (the crime) that they have committed - an exemplary punishment from Allâh. And Allâh is All-Mighty, All-Wise.

English Literal

And the male thief/robber and the female thief/robber, so cut off their (B)`s hands, a reward because (of) what they (B) gathered/acquired , severe exemplary punishment from God, and God (is) glorious/mighty ,wise/judicious .

Faridul Haque

And cut off the hands of those men or women who are thieves - a recompense of their deeds, a punishment from Allah; and Allah is Almighty, Wise.

Hamid S. Aziz

But whoever repents after his wrongdoing (injustice) and makes amends, verily, Allah will relent towards him, for, verily, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Hilali & Khan

Cut off (from the wrist joint) the (right) hand of the thief, male or female, as a recompense for that which they committed, a punishment by way of example from Allah. And Allah is All-Powerful, All-Wise.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

They would desire to come forth from the Fire, and they will not come forth from it, and theirs is a lasting chastisement.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned, an exemplary punishment from Allah; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands. It is the reward of their own deeds, an exemplary punishment from Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Muhammad Sarwar

Cut off the hands of a male or female thief as a punishment for their deed and a lesson for them from God. God is Majestic and All-wise.

Qaribullah & Darwish

As for the man or woman who is guilty of theft, recompense them by cutting off their hands for their crimes. That is the punishment from Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And (as for) the male thief and the female thief, cut off their hands as a recompense for that which both committed, a punishment by way of example from Allah. And Allah is All-Powerful, All-Wise.

Wahiduddin Khan

Cut off the hands of thieves, whether they are male or female, as a [deterrent] punishment from God for what they have done. God is almighty and wise.

Talal Itani

As for the thief, whether male or female, cut their hands as a penalty for what they have reaped—a deterrent from God. God is Mighty and Wise.

Tafsir jalalayn

And the thieving male and the thieving female (the definite article in both [nouns] relates to the subject [sc. wa'lladh saraqa wa'llat saraqat, `And the male who thieves and the female who thieves']; because this [clause] resembles a conditional statement [sc. `if he thieves, if she thieves' etc.] the f' has been included in the predicate [fa'qta`, `then cut off']) cut off their hands, that is, the right hand of each of the two from the wristbone; it is explained in the Sunna that the amputation applies to [the stealing of] a quarter of a dinar and upwards, and if the person were to re-offend, the left foot should then be amputated from the ankle, and then [on subsequent re-offending] the left hand [is amputated], followed by the right foot, after which discretionary punishment is applied; as a requital (jaz'an is in the accusative because it is a verbal noun) for what they have earned, and an exemplary punishment, for both of them, from God; God is Mighty, His way will prevail, Wise, in His creation.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Necessity of Cutting off the Hand of the Thief

Allah says;

وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُواْ أَيْدِيَهُمَا

And (as for) the male thief and the female thief, cut off their hands,

Allah commands and decrees that the hand of the thief, male or female be cut off.

During the time of Jahiliyyah, this was also the punishment for the thief, and Islam upheld this punishment.

In Islam, there are several conditions that must be met before this punishment is carried out, as we will come to know, Allah willing.

There are other rulings that Islam upheld after modifying these rulings, such as that of blood money for example.

When Does Cutting the Hand of the Thief Become Necessary

In is recorded in the Two Sahihs that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

لَعَنَ اللهُ السَّارِقَ يَسْرِقُ الْبَيْضَةَ فَتُقْطَعُ يَدُهُ وَيَسْرِقُ الْحَبْلَ فَتُقْطَعُ يَدُه

May Allah curse the thief who steals an egg and as a result his hand is cut off, and who steals rope and as a result his hand is cut off.

Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded that Aishah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

تُقْطَعُ يَدُ السَّارِقِ فِي رُبْعِ دِينَارٍ فَصَاعِدًا

The hand of the thief shall be cut off if he steals a quarter of a Dinar or more.

Muslim recorded that Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the Messenger of Allah said,

لَاا تُقْطَعُ يَدُ السَّارقِ إِلاَّ فِي رُبْعِ دِينارٍ فَصَاعِدًا

The hand of the thief shall only be cut off if he steals a quarter of a Dinar or more.

This Hadith is the basis of the matter since it specifies (that the least amount of theft that deserves cutting the hand) is a quarter of a Dinar. So this Hadith fixes the value. And saying that it is three Dirhams is not a contradiction. This is because the Dinar in question was equal to twelve Dirhams, so three Dirhams equaled a fourth of a Dinar. So in this way it is possible to harmonize these two views.

This opinion was reported from Umar bin Al-Khattab, Uthman bin Affan, Ali bin Abi Talib - may Allah be pleased with them - and it is the view of Umar bin Abdul-Aziz, Al-Layth bin Sa`d, Al-Awza`i, and Ash-Shafii and his companions.

This is also the view of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal and Ishaq bin Rahwayh in one of the narrations from him, as well as Abu Thawr, and Dawud bin Ali Az-Zahari, may Allah have mercy upon them.

As for Imam Abu Hanifah and his students Abu Yusuf, Muhammad and Zufar, along with Sufyan Ath-Thawri, they said that;

the least amount of theft that deserves cutting off the hand is ten Dirhams, whereas a Dinar was twelve Dirhams at that time.

The first ruling is the correct one, that the least amount of theft is one forth of a Dinar or more.

This meager amount was set as the limit for cutting the hand, so that the people would refrain from theft, and this is a wise decision to those who have sound comprehension.

Hence Allah's statement,

جَزَاء بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَالاً مِّنَ اللّهِ

as a recompense for that which both committed, a punishment by way of example from Allah.

This is the prescribed punishment for the evil action they committed, by stealing the property of other people with their hands. Therefore, it is fitting that the tool they used to steal the people's wealth be cut off as punishment from Allah for their error.

وَاللّهُ عَزِيزٌ

And Allah is All-Powerful, (in His torment),

حَكِيمٌ



All-Wise.

in His commands, what he forbids, what He legislates and what He decrees.
Repentance of the Thief is Acceptable

Allah said next,

فَمَن تَابَ مِن بَعْدِ ظُلْمِهِ وَأَصْلَحَ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ