THEFT PUNISHMENT
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The explanation of Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi don't consider the whole Reading.
The Quran uses the word (nakal) for such a punishment.
In the light of the Reading, Nakal can mean example
266 And We made it a lesson (nakalan) to their times and for the future generations who would (learn from history and) choose to walk aright.
7925 So Allah took him to task, and made him an example (nakala) for the later generations and the ones who soon followed.
(jaza an bima kasaba nakalan minallah as a reward of their deeds and as an exemplary punishment)
Then, I translate it as an an exemplary reward from the God.
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Peace,
Here are 3 proposed laws based on .
L1 (Saladin's law) The 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off physically.
L2 (The sunni's law) The right hand of the thief shall be cut off physically. The amount that have been stolen should be worth of more that 1 dirham, unless there is no punishment. If the thief has stolen food because he war hungry and had nothing to eat, he shall not be punished.
L3 (God's law) Hands means resources / power. Cutting the hands of the thief can mean to deprive the thief from his power, like to imprison him, or to take back resources of the thief like to make him pay compensations, or restitute what he has stolen. The effective requital shall be decided, in light of the circumstances, by a court, and shall act as a reward of his deeds and as an exemplary punishment. The victim of the steal shall be in the court, in case he would like to forgive the thief.
Let us now compare the laws L1, L2, L3 in same basic cases, C1, C2, C3, C4.
C1 The thief has stolen something worth less that 1 dirham (like a date).
Under L1, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L2, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances (like to give back a date and to apologize)C2 The thief has stolen something worth more that 1 dirham (like a camel).
Under L1, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L2, the right hand of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances. (like to give back the camel, to apologize, to be imprisoned for 3 months, to work in order to repay the camel...)C3 The thief has stolen something worth more that 1 dirham (like a slice of lamb), but he was hungry and there were famine.
Under L1, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L2, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances. (he shall be forgiven)C4 The thief which has stolen the camel in C2 has stolen a camel again.
Under L1, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L2, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances. (like to give back the camel, to apologize, to be imprisoned for 3 years, to work in order to repay the camel...)Now, let us remind the law of equivalence
And We have decreed for them in it that a life for a life, and an eye for an eye, and a nose for a nose, and an ear for an ear, and a tooth for a tooth, and wounds to be similar; and whoever remits anything of it, then it will cancel sins for him. And whoever does not judge by what God has sent down, then these are the wicked.
As for those who earn evil, the recompense of evil will be evil like it, and they will be humiliated.
The recompense for a crime shall be its equivalence, but whoever forgives and makes right, then his reward is upon God. He does not like the wrongdoers.
Which of the 3 laws L1, L2 and L3 pass better the test of the law of equivalence ?
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Peace Jm,
Nicely done. Puts everything in perspective. Thanks for the concise post!
I forgot to add, Thanks Marie for explaining the usage of the words in different verses, I learnt a lot by going through them...
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peace all .
L3 (God's law) Hands means resources / power. Cutting the hands of the thief can .....
"Free-Mind.org's law", more appropriatly .
C3 The thief has stolen something worth more that 1 dirham (like a slice of lamb), but he was hungry and there were famine.
Under L1, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.? ? ? ! !
i meant to say that laws are not to be applied under a system where poverty, hunger etc force people to commit these crimes (even though they might not like to commit these crimes) , because God holds us responsible for our innermost intentions .
God does not punish us for the crimes/sins we which were forced to commit .
peace.
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C3 The thief has stolen something worth more that 1 dirham (like a slice of lamb), but he was hungry and there were famine.
Under L1, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.? ? ? ! !
i meant to say that laws are not to be applied under a system where poverty, hunger etc force people to commit these crimes (even though they might not like to commit these crimes) , because God holds us responsible for our innermost intentions .
God does not punish us for the crimes/sins we which were forced to commit .
peace.
OK, sorry.
But are you satisfied with your law in C1, C2 and C4 cases ?Peace
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OK, sorry.
But are you satisfied with your law in C1, C2 and C4 cases ?Peace
just add one thing that the theft punishment is for repeat offenders. as i have written before too . i m satisfied with the rest .
peace.So, to resume
L1 The 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off physically.
L2 (The sunni's law) The right hand of the thief shall be cut off physically. The amount that have been stolen should be worth of more that 1 dirham, unless there is no punishment. If the thief has stolen food because he war hungry and had nothing to eat, he shall not be punished.
L3 (God's law) Hands means resources / power. Cutting the hands of the thief can mean to deprive the thief from his power, like to imprison him, or to take back resources of the thief like to make him pay compensations, or restitute what he has stolen. The effective requital shall be decided, in light of the circumstances, by a court, and shall act as a reward of his deeds and as an exemplary punishment. The victim of the steal shall be in the court, in case he would like to forgive the thief.
L1bis (Saladin's law) The 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off physically, only if the thief is a repeat offender. Tis punishement shall not be applied if poverty, hunger etc force people to steal.
C1 The thief has stolen something worth less that 1 dirham (like a date).
Under L1, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L2, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances (like to give back a date and to apologize)
Under L1bis, nothing shall be done to the thief.C2 The thief has stolen something worth more that 1 dirham (like a camel).
Under L1, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L2, the right hand of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances. (like to give back the camel, to apologize, to be imprisoned for 3 months, to work in order to repay the camel...)
Under L1bis, nothing shall be done to the thief.C3 The thief has stolen something worth more that 1 dirham (like a slice of lamb), but he was hungry and there were famine.
Under L1, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L2, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances. (he shall be forgiven)
Under L1bis, nothing shall be done to the thief.C4 The thief which has stolen the camel in C2 has stolen a camel again.
Under L1, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L2, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances. (like to give back the camel, to apologize, to be imprisoned for 3 years, to work in order to repay the camel...)
Under L1bis, since he is a repeat offender, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.C5 The thief which has stolen the camel in C2 has stolen a date.
Under L1, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L2, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances. (like to give back a date and to apologize)
Under L1bis, since he is a repeat offender, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.C6 The thief which has stolen the camel in C2, and a camel in C4 or a date in C5, has stolen again a camel .
Under L1, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L2, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances.
Under L1bis, nothing shall be done to the thief.Is it OK now ?
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yes it is ok now .
btw what is L1bis ?peace.
L1bis (Saladin's law) The 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off physically, only if the thief is a repeat offender. Tis punishement shall not be applied if poverty, hunger etc force people to steal.
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C7 The thief has stolen gold (worth 1 billion dirhams) (for the first time)
Under L1, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L2, the right hand of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances.
Under L1bis, nothing shall be done to the thief.C8 The thief which has stolen the date in C2 has stolen a date again.
Under L1, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L2, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances.
Under L1bis, since he is a repeat offender, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.Still agreed ?
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C7 The thief has stolen gold (worth 1 billion dirhams) (for the first time)
Under L1, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L2, the right hand of the thief shall be cut off.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances.
Under L1bis, nothing shall be done to the thief.if the thief repents and reforms , he will not be punished .
C8 The thief which has stolen the date in C2 has stolen a date again.
Under L1, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L2, nothing shall be done to the thief.
Under L3, the thief shall be requited accordingly to the circumstances.
Under L1bis, since he is a repeat offender, the 2 hands of the thief shall be cut off.Still agreed ?
i agree .
looking forward to C9 and C10 .
peace.
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So, according to you, to mutilate the hands of someone who has only stolen 2 dates, and to do nothing to someone who has stolen 1 billion dirhams gold, is fair / conform to the law of equivalence ???
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SaLaM Saladin
My dear brother, remember when i presented you a scenario, and how you didnt know how you would feed your family just becoz stole something twice? Do you think God wants that to happen to everyone? Brother, i used to steal a lot of things. Including gold. If you chopped my hand off, i wouldnt have been able to work for my family and bring home an earning. Dont you think that there might be another way of dealing with it without being unfair to the family of the theif?
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So, according to you, to mutilate the hands of someone who has only stolen 2 dates, and to do nothing to someone who has stolen 1 billion dirhams gold, is fair / conform to the law of equivalence ???
peace.
the theif is forgiven because he repents and reforms his conduct .the law of equivalence does not apply because the punishment for theft has already been prescribed in the koran .
peace.
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if the thief repents and reforms , he will not be punished .
To reform = To return to a good state; to amend or correct one's own character or habits; as, a man of settled habits of vice will seldom reform.
How much time to you give to the thief to improve his behavior ? 1 week ? 1 month ? 1 year ?
Saladin, according to the law of equivalence, any evil act has to be punished.
And the chance to reform oneself occurs not (only) before, but after the punishment.the law of equivalence does not apply because the punishment for theft has already been prescribed in the koran .
I don't agree (and I don't agree to disagree).
The quran cannot contradict itself by stating the law of equivalence, and not implementing it.Peace
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salam.
if the thief repents and reforms , he will not be punished .
To reform = To return to a good state; to amend or correct one's own character or habits; as, a man of settled habits of vice will seldom reform.
How much time to you give to the thief to improve his behavior ? 1 week ? 1 month ? 1 year ?
we will know whether he had reformed his conduct or not if he repeats his crime .
the law of equivalence does not apply because the punishment for theft has already been prescribed in the koran .
I don't agree (and I don't agree to disagree).
The quran cannot contradict itself by stating the law of equivalence, and not implementing it.it is not a contradiction , but an exception .
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salam.
if the thief repents and reforms , he will not be punished .
To reform = To return to a good state; to amend or correct one's own character or habits; as, a man of settled habits of vice will seldom reform.
How much time to you give to the thief to improve his behavior ? 1 week ? 1 month ? 1 year ?
we will know whether he had reformed his conduct or not if he repeats his crime .
Someone who has stolen gold worth 1 billion dirham has to be requited for this evil act.
What you are stating is not conform to the law of equivalence, according to which each evil act have to be requited.the law of equivalence does not apply because the punishment for theft has already been prescribed in the koran .
I don't agree (and I don't agree to disagree).
The quran cannot contradict itself by stating the law of equivalence, and not implementing it.it is not a contradiction , but an exception .
Why would the law requiting steal would be an exception ???
When an interpretation such as yours makes so much difficulties to conform to the quran (not compatible with the law of equivalence, not compatible with the story of Joseph...), it has to be forsaken.
Your are not choosing the best explanation.Cf http//www.free-minds.org/articles/quranic/study.htm
peace
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the law of equivalence does not apply because the punishment for theft has already been prescribed in the koran .
I don't agree (and I don't agree to disagree).
The quran cannot contradict itself by stating the law of equivalence, and not implementing it.it is not a contradiction , but an exception .
Why would the law requiting steal would be an exception ???
because of 538 .
When an interpretation such as yours makes so much difficulties to conform to the quran (not compatible with the law of equivalence, not compatible with the story of Joseph...),
the story of joseph has nothing to do with 538
http//www.geocities.com/thewisekoran/theft.htm
peace.
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Salam Fahad, all,
Your article is not complete then subjective. You will assume this responsibility in front of God.
<<The punishment is to cut off from the thieves resources and power. Here you are three reasons supporting this non-literal understanding.>>
No verse in the Koran says any such thing .
The Koran has clearly commanded the hands of the thieves to be cut off in 538 .
Since you don't hold the absolute truth, please, speak only about what you understand from the Reading. Let the readers judge by themselves in the light of the whole Reading.
You wrote
1274, "They said, "What is the punishment for the thief, if you are liars?"'
1275, "They said, "The punishment, if it is found in his bag, is that the thief belongs to you. We thus punish the guilty."'
the verse says that the thief belongs to owners . that is slavery . that was the punishment for theft in the homeland of Josephs brothersYou quote a wrong traditional translation, about your read text
Here is the arabic Text
jazaohu fahuwa jazaohu
Your translation The punishment is that the thief belongs to youJaza reward, compensation, penalty, punishment
"fahuwa" is translated as "is that", but it can refer to "the measuring bowl of the King"
The answer to the first "jazaohu" is the second word
"jazaohu" in the same verse, the whole can mean "his reward/penalty is to compensate for what he has stolen--->the measuring bowl of the King ".
You fail to get the difference between our physical hands and what we did with them. The penalty is about our deed.No answer is needed
Salam
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salam marie .
can u translate the whole verse 1275 , so i can better understand what u r saying ?"fahuwa" is translated as "is that", but it can refer to "the measuring bowl of the King"
are u saying that fahuwa "can" or "does" refer to the bowl ?
salam.
fahad.