Sunan Abi Dawud

When a woman went out in the time of the Prophet (ﷺ) for prayer, a man attacked her and overpowered (raped) her. She shouted and he went off, and when a man came by, she said: That (man) did such and such to me. And when a company of the Emigrants came by, she said: That man did such and such to me. They went and seized the man whom they thought had had intercourse with her and brought him to her. She said: Yes, this is he. Then they brought him to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). When he (the Prophet) was about to pass sentence, the man who (actually) had assaulted her stood up and said: Messenger of Allah, I am the man who did it to her. He (the Prophet) said to her: Go away, for Allah has forgiven you. But he told the man some good words (AbuDawud said: meaning the man who was seized), and of the man who had had intercourse with her, he said: Stone him to death. He also said: He has repented to such an extent that if the people of Medina had repented similarly, it would have been accepted from them. Abu Dawud said: Asbat bin Nasr has also transmitted it from Simak.

A thief who had accepted (having committed theft) was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ), but no good were found with him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), said to him: I do not think you have stolen. He said: Yes, I have. He repeated it twice or thrice. So he gave orders. His hand was cut off and he was then brought to him. He said: Ask Allah's pardon and turn to Him in repentance. He said: I ask Allah's pardon and turn to Him in repentance. He (the Prophet) then said: O Allah, accept his repentance. Abu Dawud said: It has been transmitted by 'Amr b. Asim, from Hammam, from Ishaq b. 'Abd Allah from Abu Ummayyah, a man of the Ansar from the Prophet (ﷺ).

A man came to the prophet (ﷺ) and said : Messenger of Allah ! I have committed a crime which involves prescribed punishment so inflict it on me . He said : Have you not performed ablution when you came? He said : Yes, He said: Have you not prayed with us when we prayed ? He said : Yes .He then said : Go off, for Allah, the Exalted, forgave you.

Some goods of the people of Kila' were stolen. They accused some men of the weavers (of theft). They came to an-Nu'man ibn Bashir, the companion of the Prophet (ﷺ). He confined them for some days and then set them free. They came to an-Nu'man and said: You have set them free without beating and investigation. An-Nu'man said: What do you want? You want me to beat them. If your goods are found with them, then it is all right; otherwise, I shall take (retaliation) from your back as I have taken from their backs. They asked: Is this your decision? He said: This is the decision of Allah and His Apostle (ﷺ). Abu Dawud said: By this statement he frightened them ; that is, beating is not necessary except after acknowledgement.

The prophet (ﷺ) used to cut off a thief’s hand for a quarter of a dinar and upwards.

A thief’s hand should be cut off for a quarter of a dinar and upwards. Ahmed b. Salih said: The amputation (of a thief’s hand) is for a quarter of a dinar and upwards.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had thief’s hand cut off for a shield worth three dirhams.

The Prophet (ﷺ) had a man's hand cut off who had stolen from the place reserved for women a shield whose price was three dirhams.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had a man's hand cut off for (stealing) a shield whose price was a dinar or ten dirhams. Abu Dawud said: Muhammad bin Salamah and Sa'dan bin Yahya have transmitted it from Ibn Ishaq through his chain of narrators.

Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Hibban said: A slave stole a plant of a palm-tree from the orchard of a man and planted it in the orchard of his master. The owner of the plant went out in search of the plant and he found it. He solicited help against the slave from Marwan ibn al-Hakam who was the Governor of Medina at that time. Marwan confined the slave and intended to cut off his hand. The slave's master went to Rafi' ibn Khadij and asked him about it. He told him that he had heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: The hand is not to be cut off for taking fruit or the pith of the palm-tree. The man then said: Marwan has seized my slave and wants to cut off his hand. I wish you to go with me to him and tell him that which you have heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). So Rafi' ibn Khadij went with him and came to Marwan ibn al-Hakam. Rafi' said to him: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: The hand is not to be cut off for taking fruit or the pith of the palm-tree. So Marwan gave orders to release the slave and then he was released. Abu Dawud said: Kathar means pith of the palm-tree.

Marwan gave him some lashes and let him go.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked about fruit which was bung up and said: If a needy person takes some with his mouth and does not take a supply away in his garment, there is nothing on him, but he who carries any of it is to be fined twice the value and punished, and he who steals any of it after it has been put in the place where dates are dried to have his hand cut off if their value reaches the value of a shield. If he steals a thing less in value than it, he is to be find twice the value and punished. Abu Dawud said: Jarin means the place where dates are dried.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Cutting of hand is not to be inflicted on one who plunders, but he who plunders conspicuously does not belong to us.

He also said through this chain: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Cutting of the hand is not to be inflicted on one who is treacherous.

Cutting of the hand is not be inflicted on one who snatches something. Abu Dawud said : Ibn Juraij did not hear these two traditions from Abu al-Zubair, I have been informed by Ahmad. B. Hanbal saving : Ibn Juraij heard them from Yasin al-Zayyat. Aby Dawud said: Al-Mughirah b. Muslim has transmitted it from Abu al-Zubair from Jabir From the prophet(ﷺ).

I was sleeping in the mosque on a cloak mine whose price was thirty dirhams. A man came and pinched it away from me. The man was seized and brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He ordered that his hand should be cut off. I came to him and said: Do you cut off only for thirty dirhams ? I sell it to him and make the payment of its price a loan ? He said: Why did you not do so before bringing him to me ? Abu Dawud said: Za'idah has also transmitted it from Simak from Ju'ayd ibn Hujayr. He said: Safwan slept. Mujahid and Tawus said: While he was sleeping a thief came and stole the cloak from beneath his head. The version of AbuSalamah ibn AbdurRahman has: He snatched it away from beneath his head and he awoke. He cried and he (the thief) was seized. Az-Zuhri narrated from Safwan ibn Abdullah. His version has: He slept in the mosque and used his cloak as pillow. A thief came and took his cloak. The thief was seized and brought to the Prophet (ﷺ).

A Makhzuml woman used to borrow goods and deny having received them, so the prophet (ﷺ) gave orders and her hand was cut off. Abu Dawud said: Juwairiyyah has transmitted it from Nafi from Ibn ‘Umar or from Safiyyah daughter of Abu ‘Ubaid. This version adds: The prophet (ﷺ) got up and gave an address saying : Is there any woman who repents to Allah, the Exalted, and to his Apostle? He said it three times, That( woman) was present there but she did not get up and speak. Ibn Ghunj transmitted it from Nafi from Safiyyah daughter of Abu ‘Ubaid. This version has : He witnessed to her.

A woman borrowed jewellery through some known persons and she herself was unknown. She then sold them. She was seized and brought to the Prophet (ﷺ). He gave orders that her hand should be cut off. It is this woman about whom Usamah interceded and of her the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said whatever he said.

A Makhzuml woman used to borrow goods and deny having received them. The prophet (ﷺ) gave orders that her hand should be cut off. He (the narrator) then narrated the tradition similar to the one transmitted by Qutaibah from al-Laith from Ibn Shahib. This version adds: The prophet(ﷺ) had her hand cut off.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: There are three (persons) whose actions are not recorded: a sleeper till he awakes, an idiot till he is restored to reason, and a boy till he reaches puberty.