Ahmad 7436

Its isnad is sahih. Muslim also related it, 2:32, as did Nasai, 2/254, and Ibn Majah, 2583, all of them by way of Abu Muawiya, with this same isnad. Bukhari related it, 12:72, by way of Hafs bin Ghiyath, and also related it again, 94, by way of Abdul-Wahid, who is Ibn Ziyad. Muslim related it, 2:32, by way of Isa bin Yunus, all three of them from Amash, with this same isnad. Bukhari added, in his first version with the same isnad, Amash said, "They used to think it meant an egg made of iron, and as for the rope, they used to think that some ropes are worth several dirhams."This is an interpretation Amash devised on his own, and it is forced, and the scholarly authorities have rejected it. Khattabi said, "This interpretation of Amash does not match the drift of the hadith or the way the wording is meant to be understood. It is not customary, in speech of this kind that carries blame and reproach, to say, 'May Allah disgrace so-and-so for exposing himself to ruin over something that has real worth and value, and over an object of real price.' Rather, in such a case, the example given is always of something that has no weight and no value at all. This is the established convention that governs speech of this sort.The true meaning and interpretation of the hadith is this, it condemns theft and denounces it as base, and warns against its evil consequence, whether the amount involved is small or large. It is as if it says, 'Stealing something insignificant with no real value, like a rotten egg or a worn out rope worth nothing, if a person keeps doing it until it becomes a habit, he cannot be safe from being led on to stealing something greater, until he reaches the amount for which the hand is cut off, and then his hand is cut off.' It is as if it says, 'So let a person beware of this act and guard against it before habit takes hold of him and he becomes accustomed to it, so that he may be spared its evil consequence and its grave outcome.'"This is elevated and valuable speech. Hafiz quoted it in Fath al-Bari, and quoted much else of similar quality and character from him.See, regarding the amount for which the hand is cut off, what has already passed in the Musnad of Abdullah bin Umar, 4503, 6317, and in the Musnad of Abdullah bin Amr bin As, 6683, 6746.