How can the hadd punishment of cutting off the hand of a thief be applied if he suffers from a mental illness that compels him to steal, and how were such cases dealt with before the existence of modern diagnostic methods? Does this mean that a patient who stole in the past was wronged because he was born in a time when diagnostic means were not available?

Mental illness is not considered a barrier to establishing the حد السرقة (punishment for theft) unless the mind is removed by insanity, as the mind is the locus of accountability. For the حد السرقة to be established against a thief, it is required that he be accountable, intending the act of theft, not compelled, that there be no partiality between him and the victim of the theft, and that he have no doubt about his entitlement. The حد is not established if he is ignorant of the prohibition of theft or did not intend to acquire ownership. Kleptomania does not negate accountability, and the presence of religious deterrence and righteous companionship reduces the occurrence of such thefts. Islamic law has taken into account acceptable excuses in the حد for theft, and the modern diagnosis of kleptomania is not an excuse; rather, the absence of the حد may be a cause for the emergence of this illness.