As punishment for theft, Quran 5:38 asks Muslims to "cut off his or her hands". This particular punishment was carried out in the Taliban-era Afghanistan. (

Amputation , is the removal of part or all of a body part enclosed by skin. [1] Within the context of Islam , it refers to the removal of the hands or feet. This, along with beheading, flogging, stoning , and crucifixion , is a prescribed punishment in Islamic law .

The hardline Taliban Friday publicly executed a murderer and amputated limbs of two robbers amid shouts of "God is the Greatest" at the Kabul stadium, witnesses said. Thousands of Taliban soldiers and citizens, including women, watched the proceedings. The murderer squatted and after his face was covered with a pink mask he was shot dead by the father of the man allegedly killed by the accused earlier this year. Later a team of surgeons wearing blue masks chopped off right hands and left feet of two men convicted of highway robbery. The surgeons amputated the limbs after anaesthetizing the convicts and left the severed limbs on the ground for the spectators to rush and have a close look. The three were convicted by a military tribunal created by the Taliban supreme leader Mulla Omar to deal with criminal cases under the Islamic Sharia law. Taliban, who now control almost three-quarter of Afghanistan, have enforced punishments in public under the Islamic law which they say helped deter and curb criminal acts.

When the Taliban, an Islamic militant group, took over Afghanistan in 1996, within a year, public executions, amputations and stonings were a regular Friday event in Kabul. [10] In 1998, the AFP reported this event:

In 2008, the Islamic Republic of Iran saw five double amputations in a single week--five convicted robbers were each sentenced to have their right hands and left feet amputated. [9]

In Somalia, one man found guilty of stealing was put on public display as his hand was severed at the wrist and then dangled by the index finger. [6] In June of the same year (2009), a court run by an Islamic group sentenced four Somali men to each have a hand and a leg cut off for allegedly stealing mobile phones and guns. [7] [8]

Amputation is used as punishment for theft in Nigeria, which reintroduced shariah law in 1999. [4] This, along with other shari'ah punishments, are "overwhelmingly" supported by the Nigerian Muslim population, [5] and by 2003 three men already had their arms amputated for stealing; a goat, a cow, and two bicycles. [5]

I use a special sharp knife, not a sword. When I cut off a hand I cut it from the joint. If it is a leg the authorities specify where it is to be taken off, so I follow that.

Today in Saudi Arabia, for example, amputation for criminal punishment is not performed by a medical professional but rather by the designated professional executioner who also earns his living beheading people. [2] Muhammad Saad Al-Beshi, Saudi Arabia's leading executioner, describes amputation:

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.

The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;

While the majority of Muslim translators have remained true to the Arabic text, many apologists have attempted to obscure the plain meaning of Quran 5:38. However, the hadith prove its meaning is entirely literal. Furthermore, Muhammad and the early generations of Muslims had no qualms with it being so.

How to qualify for the punishment



Sahih Bukhari 8:81:791 , See also: Sahih Muslim 18:4185-4186 Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah 's Apostle said, "Allah curses the thief who steals an egg (or a helmet) for which his hand is to be cut off, or steals a rope, for which his hand is to be cut off."

Exceptions to the law

Plundering is not considered to be thievery.



Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4378 Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Cutting of hand is not to be inflicted on one who plunders, but he who plunders conspicuously does not belong to us.

Able-bodied men are needed during times of war, so hands are not to be cut off during an expedition.



Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4394 Narrated Busr ibn Artat: Junadah ibn AbuUmayyah said: We were with Busr ibn Artat on the sea (on an expedition). A thief called Misdar who had stolen a bukhti she-camel was brought. He said: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: Hands are not to be cut off during a warlike expedition. Had it not been so, I would have cut it off.

Amputation not needed for thieves who steal fruit.

Narrated Rafi' ibn Khadij: Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Hibban said: A slave stole a plant of a palm-tree from the orchard of a man and planted it in the orchard of his master. The owner of the plant went out in search of the plant and he found it. He solicited help against the slave from Marwan ibn al-Hakam who was the Governor of Medina at that time. Marwan confined the slave and intended to cut off his hand. The slave's master went to Rafi' ibn Khadij and asked him about it. He told him that he had heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: The hand is not to be cut off for taking fruit or the pith of the palm-tree. The man then said: Marwan has seized my slave and wants to cut off his hand. I wish you to go with me to him and tell him that which you have heard from the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). So Rafi' ibn Khadij went with him and came to Marwan ibn al-Hakam. Rafi' said to him: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: The hand is not to be cut off for taking fruit or the pith of the palm-tree. So Marwan gave orders to release the slave and then he was released.

Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4375 Rafi' said to him: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: The hand is not to be cut off for taking fruit or the pith of the palm-tree. So Marwan gave orders to release the slave and then he was released.

Thieves who repent must still be punished

Story continued in Sahih Muslim 17:4188 and Sahih Bukhari 8:81:792...

He (the Holy Prophet) then commanded about that woman who had committed theft, and her hand was cut off. 'A'isha (further) said: Hers was a good respentance, and she later on married and used to come to me after that, and I conveyed her needs (and problems) to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him).



Here the story is confirmed by yet another narrator:



Sahih Muslim 17:4190 Jaibir reported that a woman from the tribe of Makhzum committed theft. She was brought to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and she sought refuge (intercession) from Umm Salama, the wife of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him). Thereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: By Allah, even if she were Fatima, I would have her hand cut off. And thus her hand was cut off.

The habitual thief

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: A thief was brought to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). He said: Kill him. The people said: He has committed theft, Apostle of Allah! Then he said: Cut off his hand. So his (right) hand was cut off. He was brought a second time and he said: Kill him. The people said: He has committed theft, Apostle of Allah! Then he said: Cut off his foot. So his (left) foot was cut off. He was brought a third time and he said: Kill him. The people said: He has committed theft, Apostle of Allah! So he said: Cut off his hand. (So his (left) hand was cut off.) He was brought a fourth time and he said: Kill him. The people said: He has committed theft, Apostle of Allah! So he said: Cut off his foot. So his (right) foot was cut off. He was brought a fifth time and he said: Kill him. So we took him away and killed him. We then dragged him and cast him into a well and threw stones over him.

Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4396 So we took him away and killed him. We then dragged him and cast him into a well and threw stones over him.

The thieving slave and Aisha

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazim that Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman said, "A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out to Makka and she had two girl mawlas of hers and a slave belonging to the sons of Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr as-Siddiq . She sent a figured cloak with the two mawlas which was sewn up in a piece of green cloth." Amra continued, "The slave took it and unstitched it and took out the cloak. In its place, he put some felt or skin and sewed it up again. When the mawla girls came to Madina, they gave it to his people. When they opened it, they found felt in it and did not find the cloak. They spoke to the two women and they spoke to A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or they wrote to her and suspected the slave. The slave was asked about it and confessed. A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave the order and his hand was cut off. A'isha said, 'A thief's hand is cut off for a quarter of a dinar and upwards.'" Malik said, "The limit I prefer above which cutting off the hand is obliged is three dirhams, whether the exchange is high or low. That is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, cut off the hand of a thief for a shield whose value was three dirhams, and Uthman ibn Affan cut off the hand of a thief for a citron which was estimated at three dirhams. This is what I prefer of what I have heard on the matter."

Al-Muwatta 41:25 Malik said, "The limit I prefer above which cutting off the hand is obliged is three dirhams, whether the exchange is high or low. That is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, cut off the hand of a thief for a shield whose value was three dirhams, and Uthman ibn Affan cut off the hand of a thief for a citron which was estimated at three dirhams. This is what I prefer of what I have heard on the matter."

Miscellaneous



Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4397 Narrated Fadalah ibn Ubayd: A thief was brought to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and his hand was cut off. Thereafter he commanded for it, and it was hung on his neck.



Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4367 Narrated AbuUmayyah al-Makhzumi: A thief who had accepted (having committed theft) was brought to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), but no good were found with him. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), said to him: I do not think you have stolen. He said: Yes, I have. He repeated it twice or thrice. So he gave orders. His hand was cut off and he was then brought to him. He said: Ask Allah's pardon and turn to Him in repentance. He said: I ask Allah's pardon and turn to Him in repentance. He (the Prophet) then said: O Allah, accept his repentance.



Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4377 Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) was asked about fruit which was bung up and said: If a needy person takes some with his mouth and does not take a supply away in his garment, there is nothing on him, but he who carries any of it is to be fined twice the value and punished, and he who steals any of it after it has been put in the place where dates are dried to have his hand cut off if their value reaches the value of a shield. If he steals a thing less in value than it, he is to be find twice the value and punished.



Al-Muwatta 41:22 Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abd ar-Rahman abu Husayn al-Makki that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The hand is not cut off for fruit hanging on the tree and for sheep kept in the mountains. So when they are taken from the fold or the place where the fruit is dried, a hand is cut off for whatever reaches the price of a shield."



Al-Muwatta 41:23 Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr from his father from Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman that a thief stole a citron in the time of Uthman Uthman ibn Affan ordered its value to be estimated and it was estimated at three dirhams at the rate of exchange of twelve dirhams for the dinar, so Uthman cut off his hand.



Expression error: Unrecognized word "a"./ Al-Muwatta 37:6a "...when a thief steals goods, only their price on the day he stole them is looked at. If cutting off the hand is necessary because of it, that is done. If the cutting off is delayed, either because the thief is imprisoned until his situation is examined or he flees and then is caught, the delay of the cutting off of the hand does not make the hadd, which was obliged for him on the day he stole, fall from him even if those goods become cheap after that. Nor does delay oblige cutting off the hand if it was not obliged on the day he took those goods, even if they become expensive after that."

Malik's Muwatta contains many more ahadith regarding amputation laws:

Al-Muwatta 41:26-27

Al-Muwatta 41:28-29

Al-Muwatta 41:30-31

Al-Muwatta 41:32-35