Punishment for Stealing the Fruits in Imamia Fiqh

Despite the consensus of jurists (fokaha) in safe custody of property as one of the punishable conditions when the larceny happens, most jurists made an exception in fruit case. It means that stealing the fruits would not subject to punishment namely cut off the thief's hand, according to some narratives.  Some of jurists, however, believe that there is no differentiation in punishment between stealing fruits on the tree and otherwise. They argue that if the tree is in safe custody, the one who stole the fruits would be subjected to HADD punishment because of larceny. The believers’ claims of first quotes invoked some narratives to conclude that stealing the fruits on the tree would not subject to HADD punishment, even though the tree was in safe custody. They believe that there are some verses and narratives about stealing that can be ascribed to. The believers’ claims of second quotes, on the contrary, argue that these verses and narratives provide no proof of eligibility to be ascribed to. Moreover, these narratives would be veracious if the tree was not in safe custody according to Isaac Ben Ammar. After reviewing the testimony and evidence received from jurists, the authors arrive at the conclusion that: First, some of narratives cited by the believers’ claims of first quotes are veracious. Second, although the punishment of cutting off hands for theft (stealing fruits on the tree) appears quite clearly in a narrative cited by Isaac Ben Ammar, there are some reasons doubting the veracity of this punishment which consequently lead to failure in implementing the punishment as cutting off the thief's hand. One of these reasons is the appearance narratives indicating there will be no need to cut off the thief's hand, if the case is the stealing fruits on the tree and the tree is not in safe custody namely it is not a sin to be deserving of punishment. The other reason is the famous claim of jurists who believe that stealing the fruits on the tree would not subject to HADD punishment, even though the tree was in safe custody.