Theft

The pledge of allegiance accepted by the Prophet from believing women required them to explicitly abandon theft, placing it alongside avoiding polytheism, adultery, infanticide, and slander (60:12). The Quran treats the unlawful taking of wealth as a severe moral violation. It forbids consuming the property of others wrongfully, specifically condemning the use of wealth to bribe judges in order to knowingly and sinfully consume parts of other people's property (2:188).

What is the prescribed punishment?

The Quran mandates a strict physical consequence for men and women who steal: the cutting off of their hands. The text defines this as a punishment for their actions and a deterrent established by God (5:38). While the wording of the verse is general, classical scholars engaged in detailed legal analysis to determine the threshold of stolen wealth that triggers this penalty. As Ibn al-Jawzi records (Zad al-Masir, 1/ 545), Malik set this minimum value at three dirhams, Abu Hanifa at ten dirhams, and al-Shafi’i measured it by a quarter of a dinar.

Some groups applied the verse literally without considering a minimum value or whether the goods were in safekeeping, acting on the mere occurrence of theft (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 5/ 209). Mainstream jurists, however, developed detailed conditions around the act and distinguished it from related crimes. For example, scholars contrasted simple theft with highway robbery, which carries the distinct punishment of amputating alternate hands and feet (Taysir al-Bayan, 3/ 143). If a person steals repeatedly, legal schools vary on the limits of physical punishment; al-Sayis notes (Tafsir ayat al-ahkam, 375) that the Hanafis halt amputation after the third offense, requiring the thief to cover the cost of the stolen goods and face reprimand instead.

Is there room for repentance?

Immediately following the verse mandating amputation, the text provides a clear path to divine forgiveness. God promises to accept the repentance of a thief who turns back from their wrongdoing and makes amends (5:39). The explicit requirement to make amends indicates that seeking God’s mercy is tied to rectifying the material harm caused to others, proving that the wrongdoing is not beyond forgiveness if corrected.

Theft in the story of Joseph

The Quran illustrates the deep social stigma and mechanics of accusation through the narrative of Joseph and his brothers. When Joseph places his drinking cup into his younger brother’s pack, a crier calls out to the departing caravan, accusing them of being thieves (12:70). The brothers immediately recognize the severity of the charge, swearing by God that they did not travel there to make mischief, directly equating theft with corruption in the land (12:73).

Later, when the brothers are confronted with the cup in the younger brother's bag, they attempt to distance themselves by claiming, "If he is a thief then his brother was a thief before him" (12:77). Joseph keeps his reaction secret, quietly noting their worse situation. When the brothers return to their father, Jacob, they report the event based solely on the evidence they witnessed, stating, "Your son stole. We can only tell you what we saw. How could we guard against the unforeseen?" (12:81).

Beyond human property disputes, the concept of theft is used to demonstrate the absolute powerlessness of false deities. In a vivid illustration, the Quran challenges those who invoke idols to consider a scenario where a fly takes something away from these fabricated gods. Even if they combined all their forces, they would never be able to retrieve what a mere insect has stolen from them (22:73).