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.
Muhammad Asad argues that the Qur’anic punishment for theft can only be understood within the broader framework of Islamic social justice. He explains that Islamic law links obligations (taklīf) with corresponding rights (ḥaqq), meaning that liability to punishment presupposes the fulfillment of communal responsibilities toward individuals. According to Asad, every member of an Islamic society—Muslim and non-Muslim alike—is entitled to protection, social security, and access to economic resources sufficient to maintain human dignity. The Qur’an, therefore, envisions a society that addresses not only spiritual development but also material, intellectual, and social welfare. Severe inequality, he notes, undermines spiritual growth and may lead communities toward materialism, echoing prophetic warnings that extreme poverty can threaten faith (Asad).
Within this ethical and socio-economic framework, Asad maintains that the legal punishment of hand-cutting for theft functions primarily as a deterrent within a just and fully supportive social order. If a society ensures equitable living conditions—adequate food, housing, education, healthcare, and opportunities for lawful work—then acts of theft represent an attack on communal justice and warrant strict legal consequences. However, he emphasizes that the application of such penalties depends on the prior fulfillment of social obligations by the state or community. Where social security is absent or widespread hardship exists, harsher punishments should be suspended, as demonstrated by Caliph ʿUmar’s decision to waive the penalty during a famine. Thus, Asad concludes that the Qur’anic ruling is conditional upon the existence of a comprehensive and functioning system of social welfare and justice (Asad).
References:
Asad, Muhammad (1980). The Message of the Quran.