The ruling of theft in Islam

Theft is Haraam)forbidden( according to the Quran, Sunnah]sayings of
Prophet Muhammad[ and Ijmaa' )scholarly consensus(. Allaah, the Most
Exalted, has condemned this action and decreed an appropriate
punishment for it. The Hadd ]i.e. the legal punishment prescribed by
the Sharee'ah )Islamic law([ for a thief is to cut off thethief's
hand. Allaah Almighty Says in the Noble Quran )what means(:
"]As for[ the thief, the male and the female, amputate their handsin
recompense for what they earned ]i.e. committed[ as a deterrent
]punishment[ from Allaah. And Allaah is Exalted in Might and
Wise."]Quran 5:38[
The Prophetsaid:
"The hand )of the thief( should becut off for )the theft of( a quarter
of a Dinar or more."]Al-Bukhaari[
The Prophetcursed the thief because he is a corrupt element in
society, and if he is left unpunished, his corruption will spread and
infect the body of the Ummah )Muslim community(. Hesaid:
"May Allaah curse the thief who steals an egg and has his hand cut
off, or steals a rope and has his hand cut off."]Al-Bukhaari[
What indicates that this ruling is definitive is the fact that a
Makhzoomi noblewoman )from the tribe of Makhzoom( stole at the time of
the Prophetand Usaamah Ibn Zaydwanted to intercede for her. The
Prophetbecame angryand said:
"Do you intercede concerning oneof the Hadd set by Allaah? Those who
came before you were destroyed because if a rich man among them stole,
they would let him off, but if a lowly person stole, they would carry
out the punishment on him. By Allaah, if Faatimah Bint )daughter of(
Muhammad were to steal, I would cut off her hand."]Al-Bukhaari[
This is the ruling of Allaahconcerning theft; that thehand should be
cut off from the wrist joint.
Al-Nawawisaid in his commentary on Saheeh Muslim )Hadeeth collection(:
Al-Shaafa'i, Abu Haneefah, Maalik and the majority )of scholars(said:
"The hand should be cut off from the wrist, where thehand meets the
forearm."Al-Qurtubisaid: "All the scholars said: The hand should be
cut off from the wrist, not as some of the innovators do when they cut
off the fingers and leave the thumb."
Because cutting off the hand is a serious matter, it should not be
done for just any case of theft. A combination of conditions must be
fulfilled before the hand of a thief is cut off. These conditions are
as follows:
1- The thing should have been taken by stealth; if it was not taken by
stealth, then the hand should not be cut off, such as when property
has been seized by force in front of other people, because in this
case the owner of the property could have asked for helpto stop the
thief.
2- The stolen property should be something of worth, because that
which is of no worth has no sanctity, such as musical instruments,
wine and pigs.
2- The value of the stolen property should be above a certain limit,
which is three Islamic Dirhams or a quarter of an Islamic Dinar, or
their equivalent in other currencies.
3- The stolen property should have been taken from a place where it
had been put away, i.e., aplace where people usually put their
property, such as a cupboard, for example.
4- The theft itself has to be proven, either by the testimony of two
qualified witnesses or by the confession of the thief twice.
5- The person from whom the property was stolen has to ask for it
back; if he does not, then)the thief's( hand does not have to be cut
off.
If these conditions are fulfilled, then the hand must be cut off. If
this ruling was applied in the societies which are content with
man-made laws and which have castaside the Sharee'ah of Allaah and
replaced it with human laws, this would be the most beneficial
treatment for this phenomenon. But the matter is as Allaah Says )what
means(:
"Then is it the judgement of ]the time of[ ignorance they desire? But
who is better than Allaah in judgement for a people who are certain
]in faith[."]Quran 5:50[

The phenomenon of spinsterhood -II

One of the main reasons for the spread of this phenomenon is that some
parents oppressively prevent their daughters from marrying suitable
young men, despite the fact that the Prophet,said:"If a man whose
religionand manners you approve of comes to you )proposing to your
daughter(, then give her in marriage to him, otherwise, there will be
turmoil on the earthand great corruption."]At-Tirmithi & Ibn Maajah[
Some fathers breached the trust from Allaah which they have carried
regarding their daughtersby preventing them from marriage. It may be
that a young man comes to them asking for their daughter and they
delay or prohibit him for no reason, citingbaseless excuses, it may be
that their criteria for acceptance is trivial, such as how much his
salary is, or what his career aspirations are, while at the same time
totally disregarding his practice of the religion, manners and
honesty. Indeed some fathers see their daughters as a piece of
merchandise to be sold at an auction.
Such fathers do not realise that this is in fact oppression and
betrayal. Are these fathers unaware of the painful real life stories
that are widespread? These stories should act as a warning for all
parents to stop their heedlessness and protect their honour and
dignity before itis too late.
Where is their mercy? Do they notconsider the consequences of their
actions? How can someone who knows about the nature of awoman imprison
her for life? If these people had used their minds then they would
have looked for suitable husbands for their daughters, just as
'Umaroffered his daughter for marriage to Abu Bakr and then 'Uthmaan.
Sa'eed Ibn Al-Musayyibgive his daughter in marriage to one of his
students, indeed this was the practice of our Salaf. Indeed making
marriage difficult results in destroying homes, killing chastity,
ruining morality and spreading evil.
Rejecting suitable men and delaying women from marriage jeopardises
and endangers men, woman and indeed the community as a whole. Suitable
men are those whose practice ofIslaamis sound, whose manners are good
and who are kind, honest and from a good family. The
Prophet,,said:"Marry theone who has religion )i.e.,
devoutMuslim("]Al-Bukhaari & Muslim[
Another reason for the spread of this evil phenomenon is the
exorbitant dowries that some fathers request, so much so that marriage
becomes impossible forsome people; in some countries dowries reach
ridiculous and unimaginable levels, which results in a mountain of
debt for anyone who tries to pay it. The greed which some people
suffer from is truly saddening; they ask for amounts which the one
proposing could never afford, even if he were to save for half of his
life. Such people's greed and lust for this life has resulted in
making honourable women into pieces of merchandise, which they then
sell. All this has resulted in a huge increase in the number of
unmarried women.
The dowry in Islam is a mean andnot an objective and inflating it has
terrible effects on individuals and communities which are known to
everyone. It prevents marriages from taking place or results in
marriages to unfit or unsuitable partners from non-practicing
communities, which results in regret and sorrow.
This greed which some people suffer from is completely the opposite of
how our Salaf)predecessors(used to be, as'Umarsaid:"Do not inflate
dowries, because if it was good for ones livelihood, or righteous to
do, then the Prophetwould have done this".In fact, the Prophet,gave a
woman in marriage to a man and the dowry was what he had memorised
from the Quran, and hesaid to another man regarding the amount of
dowry to give:"Give her a ring made from iron"and 'Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn
'Awfgave a golden coin as his dowry.
After hearing all this, how can people ask for what they do? Do they
not know that they will be questioned about that which they are
entrusted with? Do they lack any mercy whatsoever? Moreover, the
tradition of excessive expenditure on weddings which some people
impose upon the groom only adds to the problem, and it is only done in
order to show off and boast.
Scholars, wealthy people and people who hold a respected position in
their community mustaddress this issue and set an example for the
Muslim nation. The media should educate people, highlight the
solutions and offer them to the people.
Brothers and sisters who are suffering from this problem should
persevere, remain steadfast and chaste and be content with the decree
of Allaahbecause what He has for them is better.
After knowing about the disease, comes information about the cure. The
cure for spinsterhood lies in strengthening the foundation of faith in
the Muslim nation and raising this coming generation upon the correct
belief, while emphasising on morals and principles in our Muslim
communities.
We should also facilitate marriages, reduce dowries and marry our
daughters to suitable young men based on the correct Islamic criteria
for choosing a spouse. We should guide people to suitable young men
and the wealthy should support those who wish to get married.
Finally, to comprehensively address the solution to the problem of
spinsterhood, the Muslim community must give great attention to the
issue of polygamy according to Islamic guidelines, because there are
far too many women who are single,divorced or widowed. Having
saidthis, those men who partake in polygamy must be just, merciful and
wise when dealing with theirwives, especially the first one, because
we are always hearing complaints from sisters about their husbands
being unjust to them. We must remember that the Prophetsaid:"He who
has two wives and favors one over another )i.e., by being unjustto one
of them by not fulfilling his duties towards her( will be onthe Day of
Resurrection with one side of his face cut and hanging)as a form of
punishment(."]Ahmad[

Dought and clear - Those to whom zakaat al-fitr may be given

Can zakaat al-fitr be given to people other than the poor and needy,
among the eight categories of people mentioned in the Qur'an(to whom
zakaah may be given)?
Praise be to Allah.
There is a difference of scholarly opinion concerning this matter. The
Shaafa'is are of the view that the categories of people to whom zakaat
al-fitr may be given are the same as those to whom zakaah on one's
wealth may be given.
The Maalikis are of the view that zakaat al-fitr isonly for the poor
and needy. This view was also favoured by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
and Ibn al-Qayyim; among contemporary scholars it was favoured by
Shaykh Ibn Baaz. (May Allah have mercy on them all)
It says inHaashiyat ad-Dasooqi(1/506): Zakaat al-fitr may be given to
any poor, free Muslim except a Haashimi (descendant ofBanu Haashim),
but it may not be given to one who works in collecting it, those whose
hearts are to be softened towards Islam, for freeing slaves, or to a
debtor, mujaahid, or a wayfarer to help him gethome; rather it is
prescribed specifically for the poor. End quote.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:This
opinion has the strongest evidence.
End quote fromMajmoo' Fataawa Shaykh al-Islam, 25/71
Ibn al-Qayyim said inZaad al-Ma'aad(2/22): It was the teaching of the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to single out the
poor for receipt of this charity; he did not share it out among the
eight categories (of those whoare entitled to zakaah), and he did not
issue instructions to that effect, and his Companions and those who
came after them did not do that either. Rather one of the two opinions
in our view is that it is not permissible to give it to anyone except
the poor in particular. This view is stronger than the view that it
must be divided among the eight categories.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is to be given
to the poor and needy, because of the proven report from Ibn 'Abbaas
(may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) enjoined zakaat al-fitr as
a purification for the fasting person from idle and obscene talk, and
to feed the poor.
And Allah knows best.

Dought and clear - The rights of one Muslim over another include those that are obligatoryand those that are mustahabb.

We know the hadeeth of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) about the rights of one Muslim over another. Myquestion is:
Will we be sinning if we do not fulfil one of these rights towards our
Muslim brother? i.e., will we incur a burden of sin thereby?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The rights that one Muslim has over another are many, some of whichare
individual obligations that are required of each person,and if he
fails to do themhe is sinning. Others are communal obligations; ifsome
people do them, the burden of sin is waived for the rest. And some are
mustahabb (encouraged) but not obligatory, so the Muslimis not sinning
if he does not do them.
Al-Bukhaari (1240) and Muslim (2162) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may
Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: "The rights of one
Muslim over another are five: returning the greeting of salaam,
visiting the sick, attending funerals, accepting invitations, and
sayingyarhamuk Allah(may Allah have mercy on you) to one who sneezes."
And Muslim (2162) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased
with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said: "The rights of one Muslim over another are six." It
was said: What are they, O Messenger of Allaah? He said: "If you meet
him, greet him with salaam; if he invitesyou, accept the invitation;
if he asks for advice, give him sincere advice; if he sneezes
andpraises Allaah, sayYarhamuk Allaah(may Allaah have mercy on you);
if he falls sick, visit him; and if he dies, attend his funeral."
Ash-Shawkaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: What is meantby the
words "The rightsof the Muslim" is that they should not be omitted and
doing them is either obligatory, or recommended to such an extent that
it is very similar to being obligatory and should not be omitted. The
word "right" (haqq) maybe used in the sense of obligatory, as was
mentioned by Ibn al-A'raabi.
End quote fromNayl al-Awtaar, 4/21
1.
Returning the greeting of salaam is obligatory ifthe greeting is given
to one person. If it is given to a group, then it is obligatory upon
the group (fard kifaayahor communal obligation; if one of the group
returnsthe greeting, the obligation as been met). With regard to
initiatingthe greeting, the basic principle is that it is Sunnah. It
says inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah(11/314):
Initiating the greeting is Sunnah mu'akkadah (a confirmed Sunnah)
because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"Spread the greeting of salaam amongst yourselves." It is obligatory
to return the greeting if it is given to one person. If the greeting
is given to a group, then in their caseresponding is a fard kifaayah
(communal obligation); if one of them responds the sin is waived from
the others, but if they all respond, they have all done what is
required, Whether they respond all together or one after another. If
they all refrain from responding,then they are all sinning because of
the report which says: "The rights of one Muslim over another are
five: returning (the greeting) of salaam…"
End quote.
2.
Visiting the sick it is a communal obligation. Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen said:
Visiting the sick is a fard kifaayah (communal obligation).
Majmoo' Fataawa wa Rasaa'il Ibn 'Uthaymeen,13/1085
See also the answer to question no. 71968
3.
Attending funerals is also a fard kifaayah (communal obligation). See
the answer to question no. 67576
4.
With regard to acceptinginvitations, if the invitation is to a wedding
feast, then the majority of scholars are of the view that it is
obligatory to accept unless there is a legitimate shar'i reason not to
do so. If it is for something other than a wedding feast, the majority
are of the view that it is mustahabb. But there are conditions for
accepting invitations in general terms. For details of that please
seethe answer to question no. 22006
5.
With regard to sayingYarhamuk Allah(May Allah have mercy on you)to one
who sneezes, there is a difference of opinion concerning the ruling.
It says inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 4/22:
This sayingYarhamuk Allah(May Allah have mercy on you) is Sunnah
according to the Shaafa'is.
According to the Hanbalis and the Hanafis, it is obligatory.
The Maalikis said – and itis an opinion among the Hanbalis – that it
is a communal obligation. It was narrated from al-Bayaan that the
stronger view is that it isan individual obligation (fard 'ayn),
because of the hadeeth: "It is the duty of every Muslim who hears him
(the one who sneezes) to say: Yarhamuk Allah (may Allah have mercy on
you). End quote
The more correct opinion is that it is obligatory on the one who hears
the sneezer praise Allah (by saying "Al-hamdu Lillah"), because of the
report narrated by al-Bukhaari (6223) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be
pleased with him) from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) who said: "Allaah likes the act of sneezing and dislikes
theact of yawning, so if any one of you sneezes and praises Allaah
(says 'al-hamdu Lillaah'), it is aduty on every Muslim who hears him
to say to him, 'Yarhamuk Allaah (may Allaah have mercy on you).'"
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:We have quoted above
the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah, in which it says: "if any one of you
sneezes and praises Allaah (says 'al-hamdu Lillaah'), it is a duty
(haqq) on every Muslim who hears him to say to him, 'Yarhamuk
Allaah(may Allaah have mercy on you).". al-Tirmidhi included the
hadeeth of Anas under the heading: Chapter on what was narrated about
it being obligatory to sayYarhamuk Allah(may Allah have mercy on
you)when one who sneezes saysAl-hamdu Lillah(Praise be to Allah). This
indicates that it is obligatory in his view, and this is the correct
view, because of the hadeeths that clearly indicate that it is
obligatory and there was nothing to contradict that, and Allah knows
best.
One of them is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah mentioned above, and
another is his other hadeeth, "There are five (rights) that the Muslim
has over his brother," which is also mentioned above. Another is the
hadeeth of Saalim ibn 'Ubayd, in which it says: "Let those who are
with him say to him:Yarhamuk Allah(may Allah have mercy on you)." And
another is the report narrated by at-Tirmidhi from 'Ali who said: The
Messengerof Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"The Muslim has six (rights) over his fellow-Muslim: he shouldgreet
him with salaam when he meets him; he should respond when heinvites
him; he should sayYarhamuk Allah(may Allah have mercy on you)if he
sneezes; he should visit him if he falls sick; he should attend his
funeral if he dies; and heshould love for him whathe loves for
himself." He (at-Tirmidhi) said: This is a hasan hadeeth. It was also
narrated via another isnaad from the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him). Some of the scholars spoke negatively about
al-Haarith al-A'war (one of the narrators). In the same chapter it is
also narrated from Abu Hurayrah, Abu Ayyoob, al-Bara' and Abu Mas'ood.
And another of these hadeeths is that which was narrated by
at-Tirmidhi from Abu Ayyoob, according to which the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "If one of you
sneezes, let him sayAl-hamdu Lillah(praise be to Allah); and let him
say'ala kulli haal(in all circumstances). And let the one who responds
tohim say:Yarhamuk Allah(may Allah have mercy on you). And let him
say:Yahdikum Allahu wa yuslih baalakum(May Allah guide you and set
your affairs straight).
There are four kinds of proof in the hadeeth quoted above ("if any one
of you sneezes and praises Allaah (says 'al-hamdu Lillaah'), it is
aduty (haqq) on every Muslim who hears him tosay to him, 'Yarhamuk
Allaah (may Allaah have mercy on you)"):
(i)there is a clear statement that it is obligatory to sayYarhamuk
Allah(may Allah have mercy on you), which cannot be interpreted in any
other way;
(ii)it is made obligatory by use of the wordhaqq(translated above as duty);
(iii)it is made obligatory by use of the word'ala(on). This word
clearly means that it is obligatory
(iv)it is enjoined. There can be no doubt that there are many duties
that are proven to be obligatory on the basis of less evidence than
this. And Allah knows best.
End quote fromHaashiyat Ibn al-Qayyim 'ala Sunan Abi Dawood, 13/259
He also said: The apparent meaning of the hadeeth mentioned above is
that sayingYarhamuk Allahis an individual obligation upon everyone who
hears the one who sneezed sayAl-hamdu Lillah; it is not acceptable for
just one of them to say it. This is one of the two scholarly opinions,
which was favoured by the Maalikis Ibn Abi Zayd and Abu Bakr ibn
al-'Arabi, and it cannot be otherwise.
End quote fromZaad al-Ma'aad, 2/437
6.
With regard to giving him advice if he asks for it, it is most likely
that offering advice is a communal obligation.
Ibn Muflih (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The apparent meaning of the words of Ahmad and our companions is that
it is obligatory to offer advice to the Muslim, even if he does not
ask for it, as is the apparent meaning of the reports.
End quote fromal-Adaabash-Shar'iyyahby Ibn Muflih, 1/307
Al-Mullah 'Ali al-Qaari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"If he asks you for advice" means if he asks you for advice, then
giveit to him; it is obligatory.It is also obligatory to give advice
even if he did not ask for it.
End quote fromMirqaat al-Mafaateeh, 5/213
al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is clear that what is meant by "duty" (haqq) here is that it is
obligatory. This is different from the wordsof Ibn Battaal who said
that what is meant is theduty of respect and companionship. It
seemsthat what is meant here is that it is a communal obligation.
End quote fromFath al-Baari, 3/113
And Allah knows best.