The Question of Justice to Slipper Thief

Today, the article will not be answering any problem but asking a question to the readers. The writer of this article went to a mosque, on entering it he founds that some people have caught a thief who used to steal slippers there. After the prayers in the mosque, all people gathered around that thief and started asking him where the slippers that he stole are? But the thief, who was an aged man of above 50 age, was not answering to their questions.

After sometime, when the people saw, that he is not answering to any questions, they started beating him to a point that he fell to the ground and started making sounds of agony.

At that moment, writer left the premises of the mosque as he did not know what to do in such condition, whether he should help the thief or he should not?

According to Islamic point of view, there are two different explanations to that question that the writer found.

1. Islam allows cutting of hands when someone steals something from someplace.

According to this point, Islam does not say to cut whole hand, but to cut a hand so that it can be recognized by people that its a thief and they do not trust him. For example, Mark, one gets when he is cutting vegetables in a kitchen.

2. That thief who cannot pay for the amount he steals, must work for the person whose amount he stole till the debt is repaid.

According to this point, the person (thief) needs to work for all those people whose slippers he swept.

But that is a difficult and more of an impossible task. So, a better option will be to keep that thief as the sweeper of that mosque so that he can pay for his crimes by rejuvenation of his heart.

As for the writer, he at that time did not do anything to stop that 'beating'. Hence, he cannot predict what became of that thief. Though he can inquire from the people at the mosque next time he returns.

May God forbid him...

But to you guys, what should be done in such type of scenario? And should the thief be saved from beating or is it ethical to beat an old man? If he should be saved, then in what way?