The hand is to be cut off for a quarter of a dinar or more
‘Ā’ishah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said:
‘Ā’ishah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The hand is to be cut off for a quarter of a dinar or more."
Attribution: Agreed upon
Grade: Authentic
Explanation
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that the hand of a thief should be cut off for stealing a quarter of a dinar of gold, or any amount greater than that, which is equivalent to the value of 1.06 grams of gold.
Benefits
Theft is of the major sins.
Allah Almighty has determined the thief's punishment, which is cutting off his hand, as He says: {As for the thief, male or female, amputate their hands.} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 38] The Sunnah has clarified the conditions of such amputation.
The word "hand" in the Hadīth refers to cutting off the palm from the joint between it and the forearm.
One of the rationales behind cutting off a thief's hand is to protect people's property and deter other transgressors.
A dinar is a Mithqāl (unit of weight) of gold, currently equivalent to 4.25 grams of 24-karat gold; thus, a quarter of a dinar is equal to a little over a gram.
