Accused candy store robber's hand ordered cut off by Iranian judge
October 16, 2010 -- Updated 2314 GMT (0714 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The man was arrested in May and was found with cash, chocolates and cocoa
- He later confessed to robbing a candy store, the semi-official Fars News Agency reports
- Such a sentence is common in Iran for habitual thieves
(CNN) -- An Iranian judge has sentenced a man accused of stealing chocolate and cocoa from a candy shop to have his hand cut off, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Saturday.
"Considering the confession of the defendant and the fact that he was found guilty of breaking and entering, according to the Quran, he deserves to have his hand cut off," Fars quoted the judge as saying as he ordered the sentence.
The 21-year-old man, whose name was withheld by the court, was arrested in May while driving in a suspicious manner, Fars reported. During the arrest, police recovered cash as well as chocolates and cocoa.
"After the man was taken to a police station, a report of a robber at a candy store was received by police," Fars said.
Police told Fars that the man later confessed to robbing the store. In addition to the amputation sentence, the man was ordered to spend six months in prison for destruction of property and an additional six months for resisting arrest, according to Fars.
Such an amputation sentence is often handed down to habitual thieves in Iran who have prior convictions for theft and robbery.
CNN's Shirzad Bozorghmehr contributed to this report. (cnn)
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 | TheReligionofPeace.com Guide to Understanding Islam What does the Religion of Peace Teach About... |
Stealing | |
Question:Are Muslims permitted to steal from others? | |
Summary Answer:Muslims may not steal from each other. In fact, Muhammad had people's hands cut off for that. But the same is not true of unbelievers. Property rights for them exist only at the discretion of their Muslim rulers. Unsubmissive infidels frequently had their property stolen from them by Muhammad's warriors, which sometimes included wives and children. | |
The Qur'an:Qur'an (5:38) - "As to the thief, Male or female, cut off his or her hands: a punishment by way of example, from Allah, for their crime: and Allah is Exalted in power." Keep in mind that the Qur'an promises the most severe of punishments for those who believe in one part of the Qur'an, but not the other (2:85). There is no such thing as moderate Islam. Those Muslims who reject cutting off hands for theft are not only disregarding their own religion, but are subject to punishment from true believers for it, since they are hypocrites by definition (see 66:9). Qur'an (48:20) - "Allah promised you many acquisitions which you will take, then He hastened on this one for you and held back the hands of men from you, and that it may be a sign for the believers and that He may guide you on a right path." Allah promises Muslims that they will profit materially in their war against unbelievers. Qur'an (33:27) - "And He caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land ye have not trodden. Allah is ever Able to do all things." Referring again to the property of unbelievers, which is given to those Muslims who defeat them. | |
From the Hadith: Forbidden to Steal from Fellow Muslims Bukhari (81:780) - The Prophet said, "The hand should be cut off for stealing something that is worth a quarter of a Dinar or more." Bukhari (81:792) - Narrated Aisha: "The Prophet cut off the hand of a lady, and that lady used to come to me, and I used to convey her message to the Prophet and she repented, and her repentance was sincere." Abu Dawud (38:4373) - The Prophet (peace be upon him) had a mans hand cut off who had stolen a shield. Stealing from Unbelievers Permitted if Needed Ibn Ishaq (764) - As for taking from unbelievers, perhaps the most illuminating example among many comes from the aftermath of the battle against the Khaybar as recorded by Muhammad's earliest biographer. The Khaybar were a peaceful community of Jewish farmers who did not even know they were at war until Muhammad led his men against their town one morning, taking them by surprise and handily defeating them. Not only did Muhammad take much of the town's possessions and land, but he actually had the tribe's treasurer, a man named Kinana, tortured until he gave up the location of hidden treasure. Muhammad then beheaded the man and "married" his traumatized widow, Safiyya (who passed through the hands of one of his lieutenant's first due to the luck of the draw). Bukhari (44:668) - "We were in the company of the Prophet at Dhul-Hulaifa. The people felt hungry and captured some camels and sheep (as booty)..." Muhammad said that Allah would always provide sustenance for those who believe in him. Stealing from non-Muslims was a legitimate means of fulfilling His promise. Ahmad 4869 (also found in the original Hadith of Bukhari) - It is mentioned from Ibn ‘Umar from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “My provision has been placed under the shadow of my spear, and abasement and humility have been placed on the one who disobeys my command.” The word "provision" means livelihood and "abasement and humility" refer to the jizya that non-Muslims are supposed to pay. By mere virtue of their unbelief, the property of non-Muslims belongs to Muslims. | |
Additional Notes: After being chased out of Mecca, Muhammad and his small band of followers sought refuge in Medina, where he was accepted as a mediator between disparate factions. In order to make ends meet, he raided caravans carrying goods from Syria to merchants in Mecca, taking what he wanted and killing or capturing whoever resisted. Aside from establishing the rule that stealing from non-Muslims is permissible, Muhammad's raids also laid a firm foundation for Islamic terrorism. In later battles, Muhammad ordered his men to set aside a fifth of whatever they were able to take from a conquered population and give it to him. This is how he eventually accumulated great wealth (which his eleven widows did not inherit, even though they were forbidden from remarrying). Even though mainstream Islam does not teach Muslims to steal from others, the legacy of raiding makes the property rights of non-Muslims extremely tenuous. As Wafa Sultan puts it: Bedouins feared raiding on the one hand, and relied on it as a means of livelihood on the other. Then Islam came along and canonized it (A God Who Hates). Islamic radicals see absolutely nothing wrong with taking from those outside their narrow circle of faith - in the way of Muhammad. | |
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