Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:38
[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they committed as a deterrent [punishment] from Allah. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of Him, mighty is His mention: وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُوا أَيْدِيَهُمَا جَزَاءً بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَالا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ (38) (And the thief, male and female: cut off their hands as a recompense for what they have committed, as a deterrent punishment from Allah. And Allah is almighty, all-wise. (5:38))
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His praise, says: and whoever steals, whether a man or a woman, then cut off, O people, his hand. For this reason "the thief, male and female" (al-sāriq wa-l-sāriqa) is placed in the nominative, because they are not specifically designated. Had a particular thief and a particular female thief been intended by this, then the correct manner of expression would have been the accusative.
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It has been transmitted from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd that he used to read this as: (wa-l-sāriqūna wa-l-sāriqātu — the male thieves and the female thieves).
11907 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAwn, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: in our reading — he said: and sometimes he said: in the reading of ʿAbd Allāh — (wa-l-sāriqūna wa-l-sāriqātu fa-qṭaʿū aymāna-humā — the male thieves and the female thieves, cut off their right hands).
11908 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAwn, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: in our reading: (wa-l-sāriqūna wa-l-sāriqātu fa-qṭaʿū aymāna-humā — the male thieves and the female thieves, cut off their right hands).
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And in this lies a proof of the correctness of what we have said concerning its meaning, and of the correctness of the nominative in it, and that "the thief, male and female" stand in the nominative through their own action, in the manner I have described, for the reasons I have described.
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And He, exalted is His mention, said: "cut off their hands", and the meaning is: their right hands, as:-
11909 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "cut off their hands" — the right.
11910 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿĀmir, who said: in the reading of ʿAbd Allāh: (wa-l-sāriq wa-l-sāriqa fa-qṭaʿū aymāna-humā — the thief, male and female, cut off their right hands).
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Then they differed concerning "the thief" whom Allah, mighty is His mention, intended.
Some of them said: by this was intended the one who steals three dirhams or more. That is the saying of a group of the people of Medina, among them Mālik ibn Anas and those who adhered to his saying. They adduced as an argument for that saying that:-
11911 - the Messenger of Allah ﷺ cut off (the hand) for a shield (mijann) whose value was three dirhams.
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And others said: no, by this was intended the one who steals a quarter dīnār or its value. Among those who said that are al-Awzāʿī and those who adhered to his saying. They adduced as an argument for that saying the report transmitted from ʿĀʾisha, that she said:
11912 - The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: the cutting off (takes place) for a quarter dīnār or more.
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And others said: no, by this was intended the one who steals ten dirhams or more. Among those who said that are Abū Ḥanīfa and his companions. They adduced for that the report transmitted from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr and Ibn ʿAbbās:
11913 - that the Prophet ﷺ cut off (the hand) for a shield whose value was ten dirhams.
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And others said: no, by this was intended the one who steals little and much. They adduced for that the argument that the verse (applies) according to its literal meaning, and that no one has the right to exempt anything from it except on the basis of a proof to which one must submit. And they said: there is no authentic report transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that this applies specifically to a particular category of thieves. They said: and the reports concerning that for which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ cut off (the hand) are contradictory and divergent, and no one has transmitted from him that a thief of one dirham was brought to him and that he released him. They have only transmitted from him that he cut off (the hand) for a shield whose value was three dirhams. They said: and it is possible that he, had a thief of something having the value of a dāniq been brought to him, would have cut off (the hand). They said: and Ibn al-Zubayr cut off (the hand) for one dirham.
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And it has been transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: the verse applies in a general sense (ʿalā al-ʿumūm).
11914 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Muʾmin related to us, on the authority of Najda al-Ḥanafī, who said: I asked Ibn ʿAbbās about His saying: "the thief, male and female", whether that is specific (khāṣṣ) or general (ʿāmm)? Then he said: no, it is general.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: and the correct view concerning this is, in our opinion, the saying of the one who said: "the verse pertains to a specific category of thieves, namely those who steal a quarter dīnār or more, or its value", because of the authenticity of the report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he said: "the cutting off (takes place) for a quarter dīnār or more". I have dealt exhaustively with the mention of the sayings of those who differ concerning this, together with the arguments which they adduced for their sayings, as well as the exposition of which of them is most correct, with its proofs, in our book "the Book of Theft" (Kitāb al-sariqa), so that we deemed it disagreeable to lengthen this book by repeating that in this place.
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And His saying: "as a recompense for what they have committed, as a deterrent punishment from Allah" — He says: as a requital to the two of them for their theft and their act of stealing through disobedience to Allah = "as a deterrent punishment from Allah" — He says: as a punishment from Allah for their thievery.
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And Qatāda used to say concerning this what:-
11915 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: "and the thief, male and female: cut off their hands as a recompense for what they have committed, as a deterrent punishment from Allah, and Allah is almighty, all-wise" — have no pity on them regarding the carrying out of the prescribed punishments (ḥudūd) upon them, for by Allah, Allah has never commanded anything except that it is an improvement, and He has never forbidden anything except that it is corruption.
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And ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb used to say: "Be severe against the thieves, cut off their (limbs), hand after hand and foot after foot."
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And His saying: "and Allah is almighty, all-wise" — He, exalted is His praise, says: "and Allah is almighty" (ʿazīz) in His recompense to this thief and this female thief and the rest of mankind who disobey Him = "all-wise" (ḥakīm) in His judgment over them and His decree concerning them.
He says: so do not neglect, O believers, the carrying out of My judgment upon the thieves and the rest of the criminals upon whom I have imposed prescribed punishments in this worldly life as a chastisement for them, for I have decreed that upon them through My wisdom, and through My knowledge of the benefit thereof for them and for you.
