Does cutting off the hand for theft mean disabling its function by imprisonment, not severing it, by analogy with "cutting off the road" and "cutting off family ties"?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Cutting off the thief's hand is a real amputation, severing it and separating it from the body. This is indicated by the verse: {As for the thief, male or female, cut off their hands as a recompense for what they have earned, a deterrent punishment from Allah. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.} (Quran 5:38). This has been the practice of Muslims. Interpreting it as disabling the hand from work by imprisonment is a nullification of the and an opposition to Allah's clear command. Cutting off was practiced in the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah) and then affirmed by Islam with conditions.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- 158560
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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