The misunderstood verse about cutting the hands of thieves
As for male and female thieves, cut off their hands [فَٱقْطَعُوٓا۟ أَيْدِيَهُمَا] for what they have done, a deterrent from Allah. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise
Quran 5:38 [common Translation]
Pause for a moment...
You read the words: “cut off their hands.”
Taken at face value, it seems brutally clear. But the Quran is not a book of brutality - it is a Book of mercy, balance, and profound depth. So let’s ask: Is it possible that we’ve misunderstood this verse?
Let’s not jump to conclusions. Let’s slow down and do what the Quran tells us to do:
“Reflect.” “Ponder.” “Use your reason.”
Will they not ponder the Quran? Or are there locks upon their hearts?
Quran 47:24
A blessed Book that We sent down to you, that they may ponder its Verses, and for those with intelligence to take heed.
Quran 38:29
Let’s look at the actual words used قطع (qaṭʿ) and يد (yad) in the language of the Quran itself. Let’s explore their other uses in the Book. Let’s revisit the story of Yusuf, where theft occurred but no limbs were lost.
So read on, not with fear, but with curiosity. And by the end, you’ll be in a better place to answer this for yourself:
Did the Quran really mean to cut off someone’s hand or have we misunderstood divine justice?
Let’s examine the two words that carry all the weight:
قطع (qat) — usually translated “cut”
يد (yad) — usually translated “hand”
What Does ‘Qat’ mean?
The word قطع (qataʿa) appears in various forms throughout the Quran - 36 times, to be precise.
But does it always mean cutting off body parts?
Not at all.
In fact, the Quran often uses قطع metaphorically, to describe things like:
- Severing ties
- Losing hope
- Disrupting a state of being
- Stopping aggression
- Ending communication
Let’s look at a few examples to see how this word functions within the Quran itself:
| Word | Verse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| تَّقَطَّعَ | And you have come to Us individually, just as We had created you the first time; and you have left behind you all that We have provided for you; and We do not see your intercessors with you that you used to claim were with you in partnership; all is severed between you, and what you have claimed has abandoned you.” 6:94 | To seperate or isolate |
| وَقَطَّعْنَٰهُمْ | We dispersed them over the earth in separate communities- some are righteous and some less so: We tested them with blessings and misfortunes, so that they might all return. 7:168 | to scatter or divide people |
| يَقْطَعُونَ | And anything small or large they spend, or any valley they cross, it will be recorded for them. God will recompense them with the best of what they did. 9:121 | To cross |
| وَقَطَّعْنَ | So when she heard of their scheming, she sent for them and prepared a banquet for them, and she gave each one of them a knife. And she said: “Come out to them,” so when they saw him they exalted him and cut their hands, and they said: “Praise be to God, this is not a mortal, but an honorable angel! 12:31 | To injure or wound[light cut] |
What does Lane’s Lexicon say about “قطع”?
Edward Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon, one of the most respected classical dictionaries, provides this entry for قطع:
“He cut, severed, divided, or parted a thing…
also: he ended or terminated a thing…
he interrupted or discontinued…
he withheld, debarred, or prevented…”
Lane confirms what we already see in the Quran:
“قطع” means a wide range of actions, not just slicing flesh.
What about “hand”? Does “يد / yad” always mean a physical hand?
The word translated as “hand” in 5:38 is "يد" (yad) and it appears in over 110 verses in the Quran.
But just like "hand" in English, "yad" is not always literal.
| Word | Verse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| يَدُ | Those who pledge loyalty to you are actually pledging loyalty to God Himself- God's hand is placed on theirs--and anyone who breaks his pledge does so to his own detriment: God will give a great reward to the one who fulfils his pledge to Him. 48:10 | Symbolic of divine authority - not a physical hand. |
| أَيْدِيهِمْ | They will never wish for it because of what their hands have delivered; and God is aware of the wicked. 2:95 | Refers to past deeds, not limbs. |
| أَيْدِيَهُمْ | O you who believe, remember the blessings of God upon you when a group desired to aggress against you, and He restrained their hands from you. And reverence God. And in God the believers should put their trust. 5:11 | Power, control |
Lane’s Lexicon on “يد” (yad)
“Hand, power, agency, means of acting, possession, capability, control...”
Again, the symbolic, legal, and metaphorical uses dominate. Just like in English:
“He had a hand in it.”
“She has a strong hand in business.”
Rethinking 5:38 - What does it really say?
"As for the thief, male or female, cut off their hands..."
Surah Al-Ma'idah (5:38)
At first glance, this verse has been traditionally interpreted as a command for physical amputation. But when we take a Quran-alone approach, rooted in linguistic accuracy and Quranic context - a very different, and far more compassionate, meaning emerges.
A closer reading, grounded in the semantic range of Arabic and the moral ethos of the Quran, might suggest something like:
✂️ "Sever their means, disrupt the systems or opportunities that enabled the theft."
🛑 "Interrupt their ability to reoffend - by reform, restriction, or restitution."
This reinterpretation aligns with:
The Quran’s language; where “cutting” (قَطَعَ) often means to sever ties, block access, or disable metaphorically, not physically.
Divine justice rooted in mercy, consistent with countless verses emphasizing forgiveness, reform, and fairness.
Rather than a command for irreversible punishment, 5:38 may be a call for intelligent justice, restorative, preventative, and ultimately redemptive.
When the “Best of Stories” defies the harshest interpretation: Yusuf and the “Thief”
The Quran introduces the story of Yusuf with a striking statement:
“We narrate to you the best stories through what We have inspired to you in this Quran; and before it you were of those who were unaware.”
Surah Yusuf 12:3
This is not just a tale...It is a divine lesson in truth, justice, and mercy, carefully designed to reflect the Quran’s deepest values. If ever there was a narrative that should clarify how divine law plays out in practice, this is it.
Later in the story, Yusuf's brother is accused of theft. [12:76] A bowl of the king is found in his belonging.
If the punishment for theft were the amputation of hands, as many assume from a literal reading of 5:38, then here is the moment to show it.
But what happens instead?
❌ No hands are severed.
❌ No physical punishment is carried out.
✅ Yusuf's is detained - a system that aligns with divine justice.
The Quran makes this crystal clear:
They said: “We are missing the measuring bowl of the king, and whoever can produce it, will be given the load of a camel; and I will be bound by this.” 12:73
They said: “By God, you know we have not come to cause corruption in the land, and we are not thieves!
12:74 They said: “What shall be the punishment, if you are liars?”
12:75 They said: “The punishment is that he in whose saddlebag it is found will himself serve as the punishment. It is so that we punish the wicked.”
12:76 So he began with their bags before the bag of his brother. Then he brought it out of the bag of his brother. It was such that We planned for Joseph, for he would not have been able to take his brother under the system of the king, except that God wished it so. We raise the degrees of whom We please, and over every one of knowledge is the All Knowledgeable.
12:77 They said: “If he has stolen, there was a brother of his before who also had stolen.” Joseph kept this all inside himself, and did not reveal anything to them. He said: “You are in an awkward position, and God best knows what you describe.
12:78 They said: “O governor, he has an elderly father, so take one of us in his place. Indeed we see you as one of the good doers.”
12:79 He said: “Refuge is sought with God that we would take anyone except he whom we found our belongings with. Indeed, we would then be wrong doers.”
A messenger of God, deliberately avoids a legal approach that would have punished the wrong person or inflicted disproportionate harm.
If amputation were truly the law of God, how could this scene be reconciled with it?
This moment in the Quran doesn’t just tell a story - it exposes a contradiction in the way many interpret 5:38.
Justice in the Quran is not about mutilation
But whoever repents after their wrongdoing and mends their ways, Allah will surely turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. 5:39
The Quran’s command in 5:38 is not a call to brutality...
It is a call to wisdom, to restraint, to restoration.
It is a call to:
🛑 Stop the crime
🛡 Protect the community
🌱 Give the wrongdoer a path to redemption
فَٱقْطَعُوٓا۟ أَيْدِيَهُمَا
not to sever flesh,
but to disable the means, interrupt the harm, and break the cycle of injustice.
This is not a loophole.
It is the very spirit of the Quran’s justice:
Firm, yet merciful.
Decisive, yet humane.
Divinely balanced.
Because God is Ar-Rahman - the Most Compassionate.