Quote from: tutti_frutti on November 27, 2020, 03:29:14 PM
salam
i really do not understand why there is the need to interpret the verse
The God was clear ... punishment for stealing is cutting off of the hands unless the thief repents
if He wanted ro say sustenance or what else, im guessing He would have said cut their sustenance. but no, He said HANDS ... so why interpret 
also if we start interpreting verses then why dont we interpret verses about lashing etc or even about hell and say fire is just an allegory there is no fire
but no, The God is clear in His verses and His words are precise
hands to be amputated for the thief just as there is actual fire and boiling liquid in hell
peace
Salam Brother tutti_frutti,
Yes
you're right and i was wrong.
Probably the classic mistake of mixing and projecting one's personal feelings/opinions onto a text.
A few
additional remarks about your last comment:
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(1)
Structure of the text (according to the principles of Semitic rhetoric - cf. note 1)
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While the subpart of Sura 5 (verses 1-26) ended with a highly symbolic biblical narrative, the second subpart (verses 27-50) also begins with a parable narrative from the biblical tradition: the murder of Cain. The story of this crime is like a pediment inaugurating a textual subsection devoted to questions concerning the exercise of justice in the new community founded by Muhammad. It has two textual sequences: 27-40 and 41-50. The first one prescribe corporal punishment for certain crimes, beyond which lies the struggle of some rebellious Jews against the prophet. The second inaugurate Muhammad as an arbiter in the internal affairs of Jews and Christians.
The textual sequence from verses 27 to 40 comprises three passages arranged in "concentrism" (e.g.a sequence with a center, symbolized by the letter X as below):
(A) 27-31
(X) 32-a-f
(A') 32g-40.
The first passage is dedicated to the account of fratricide ; the second repeats a sentence of wisdom from Jewish tradition forbidding all murder, except for the execution of the murderer or the one who contributes at "a disorder/chaos in the land" ; the third passage applies this exception to "those who fight against God and his messenger and contribute at a disorder/chaos in the land", while extending the consideration to other crimes and punishments, such as theft (verse 5:38).
Below is a schematic representation of the structure of verses 27 to 40:
(A) The
murder of Cain (verses 27-31)
(X) The prohibition of
murder and "
disorder" on earth (verses 32a-f)
(A) Crimes and punishments for "disorder" external to the community (
war) and internal to the community (
theft) (verses 32g-40)
=> This whole passage is
about corporal/physical punishment.
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(2)
Arabic principle : the plural "aydiyahumā" (their hands)
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Normally, the plural form in Arabic indicates a minimum of 3 units.
However, it exists the Arabic principle that '
when [the Arabs] annex (aḍāfat) a single body part to each of a pair of individuals, they use the plural form', quoting Q. 66:4,
If you both repent to God, for indeed your hearts have deviated (in tatūbā ilā'llāhi fa-qad ṣaghat qulūbukumā).
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(3)
Vocabulary : the word "nakālan" (5:38) = "(as) an
exemplary (punishment)"
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* Dictionary Arabic-English Lexicon by
Edward William Lane :
Any punishment serving to give warning to others than the sufferer: (M, K, TA:) or that restrains the offender from repeating the offence** Dictionary Arabic-French Lexicon by
Kazimirski :
Some uses of the root نكل (nun-kaf-lam)
1. To recoil, to move away 2. to refrain from something, or to recoil from someone or something out of fear
2. To be instructed, warned, intimidated by examples one has had before one's eyes, or to make an example of someone, e.g. by inflicting exemplary punishment.
3. Terrible and exemplary punishment => This visual and collective exemplarity act corresponds to the fact of cutting the hand, and instilling the fear of robbing in the hearts of Men.
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(4)
The historical context of the revelation of Sura 5, and verse 38.
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Sura 5 is the last to appear in the chronological order of the Koranic revelation. Muhammad became the
undisputed ruler of the community he governed. The Qur'anic principles of solidarity with the weakest are fully realized.
No one has a "serious" reason to steal because he is hungry. Thus in this context the motive to steal has no justification and can
only cause disorder/chaos in the tight-knit community of believers.
Furthermore, the traditional
scholars have set
conditions for the application of this measure:
- This does not apply to stealing food (especially if one steals out of hunger)
- A minimum amount of value must be stolen to be applied
etc..
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(5)
Variant of recitation/qirâ'a : the variant of
Ibn Masʿūd --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Q. 5:38, the verse setting out the punishment for thievery, the canonical reading is
cut off the hands of both the male and female thief (wa'l-sāriqu wa'l-sāriqatu fa'qṭaʿū aydiyahumā). Al-Farrāʾ records from Ibn Masʿūd,
cut off the right hands of both male and female thieves (wa'l-sāriqūn wa'l-sāriqāt fa'qṭaʿū aymānahumā).Al-Ṭabarī records one isnād indicating doubt about whether Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī quoted Ibn Masʿūd or claimed this recitation for himself, and another referring to al-Nakhaʿī alone. He also narrates from Ibn Masʿūd without al-Nakhaʿī,
cut off the right hands of both the male and female thief (wa'l-sāriqu wa'l-sāriqatu fa'qṭaʿū aymānahumā). By using the singular form of sāriq and sāriqa, this second reading only diverges from the canonical Qur'anic text by a single word.This is the version that al-Jaṣṣāṣ records as the recitation of al-Nakhaʿī.
=> We have here the testimony that Ibn Mas'ûd recited this verse using the plural: "
The thieves/as-sâriqûn and the thieves/as-sâriqât, cut off their hands...", which would indeed explain the presence of the plural
aydiy/hands.
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Note 1 :
-
https://reveniraucoran.fr/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Levels-and-figures-of-rhetorical-composition_v1-English.pdf-
https://reveniraucoran.fr/rhetorique-semitique/ (English translation is possible with the orange button in the upper right corner of the screen)
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God bless you.
