What is the prescribed punishment for a thief if he steals after his right hand has been amputated? Should his left hand be amputated?
Ibn Qudamah said that a thief's right hand should be amputated from the wrist joint upon the first theft. If they steal a second time, their left foot should be amputated. This is the view of the majority, differing from Ata, who said the left hand should be amputated.
The amputation of the left foot is supported by the verse: (أَوْ تُقَطَّعَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُمْ مِنْ خِلَافٍ) "or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides," and that it is less severe for the offender.
However, if the thief re-offends after their right hand and left foot have been amputated, the jurists differed: - Ali, Al-, and others said: They should be imprisoned, and nothing else should be amputated. - Ahmad said: Their left hand should be amputated for the third offense and their right foot for the fourth, then they should be disciplined and imprisoned for the fifth. - Malik, Al-Shafi'i, and others said: Their left hand should be amputated for the third offense and their right foot for the fourth, and they should be executed for the fifth. They based their argument on the of Jabir, which indicates the execution of the thief after repeated amputations.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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