Q643 :The Qur’an says :” As for the man or woman who
is guilty of theft, cut off their hands in retribution for what they
have earned, as an exemplary punishment ordained by Allah. Allah is
almighty, Wise. But whoever repents after having thus done wrong, and
makes amends, shall have his repentance accepted by Allah. Allah is
much-Forgiving, Merciful.” [ ‘Al-Maidah’ : 5 ; 38-39 ]
A643 : When the Muslim state was stricken by famine,
Caliph Umar suspended the enforcement of punishment for theft. The
servants of the son of Hatib ibn Abu Baltt’ah stole a camel which
belonged to a man of the tribe of Muzaynah. When they were proven
guilty, Umar ordered their hands to be cut off. However, on learning
that their master kept them hungry, Umar stopped the enforcement of
this punishment. He further punished their master, imposing on him a
fine equivalent to the price of two camels. It is within this context
that we should view the punishments imposed by Islam as a part of
netprehensive system which provides guarantees for all. We cannot
properly understand the wisdom behind a particular point of detail in
Islam unless we understand the nature of this system, its basic
principles and its guarantees. Moreover, details of the Islamic system
should not be implemented in isolation to the rest of the system. We
cannot simply take one legal provision or one principle of Islam and
try to implement it in a social setup which is not Islamic. Such an
attempt is useless, nor can such an action be considered an
implementation of Islam.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )