Marking the Hands

There are very few punishments that followers of the Quran are specifically commanded to apply when a crime is committed. One of these is the punishment for stealing. Unfortunately, there are two major misunderstandings that many people have regarding this verse.

5:38 The thief, male or female, you shall mark (fa-iq’ṭaʿū) their hands as a punishment for their crime, and to serve as an example from GOD. GOD is Almighty, Most Wise.

(٣٨) وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُوا أَيْدِيَهُمَا جَزَاءً بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَالًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

Cut vs. Severe

The more major of the two misunderstandings is in regards to the meaning of the word fa-iq’ṭaʿū (فَاقْطَعُوا), which you will typically see in most translations as sever. It is because of this misunderstanding of this verse that for many years in Muslim countries, people who are found guilty of theft have their hands cut off.

The issue is that while the word can mean sever, it can also mean to cut or mark. We see this in the example of Sura 12, Joseph, where the women were so mesmerized by Joseph that they cut their hands. Obviously, they did not sever their hands but merely cut their hands.