Is theft permissible in cases of extreme necessity, such as severe poverty?
Necessity is when a person reaches the brink of perishing or is close to it. Necessities permit the forbidden, such as eating carrion or taking from another's property without their knowledge to save oneself, provided that what is taken does not exceed the amount needed.
Jurists have stipulated the permissibility of taking from another's property in a year of famine if food is unavailable, because in this situation, the thief is in a state of necessity. The owner of the property must then offer the food gratuitously, due to the life-saving and compassionate nature of such an act.
As for need that does not reach the level of necessity, it does not permit theft. However, it may constitute a doubt that wards off the hadd punishment for theft (amputation of the hand), in which case discretionary punishment (ta'zir) suffices, while the obligation of restitution remains.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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