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سُورَةُ المَائـِدَةِ · 5:38
MedinanRevelation order ١١٢Juzʾ ٦Page ١١٤

وَٱلسَّارِقُ وَٱلسَّارِقَةُ فَٱقْطَعُوٓا۟ أَيْدِيَهُمَا جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَٰلًۭا مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌۭ

٣٨
Saheeh International · EN

[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they committed as a deterrent [punishment] from Allah. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.

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Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 38 of Sūrat Al-Maaida (The Table Spread), the 112th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 6. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Medinan
Order revealed
112 of 114
Surah
Al-Maaida (5)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

(As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands�) [5:38]. Said al-Kalbi: �This was revealed about Tu�mah ibn Ubayriq who stole an armour. His story has already been covered�.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

And (as for) the male thief and the female thief, cut off their hands as a recompense for that which both committed, a punishment by way of example from Allah. And Allah is All-Powerful, All-Wise (38)But whosoever repents after his crime and does righteous good deeds, then verily, Allah will pardon him. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (39)Know you not that to Allah (Alone) belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth! He forgives whom He wills and He punishes whom He wills. And Allah is able to do all things (40) The Necessity of Cutting off the Hand of the Thief Allah commands and decrees that the hand of the thief, male or female be cut off. During the time of Jahiliyyah, this was also the punishment for the thief, and Islam upheld this punishment. In Islam, there are several conditions that must be met before this punishment is carried out, as we will come to know…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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And now — what do you think?

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Provenance

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