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THEFT
Taking
someone else’s goods, money or another property, stealing.
Theft is considered as a wicked behavior in Islam and prohibited
by both it’s law code and ethical rules. The Noble
Quran declares:
“That
man can have nothing but what he strives for;” (1)”
Allah (c.c) asks people
not to deviate from right and justice and in The Noble Quran
he declares:
“And
do not eat up your property among yourselves for vanities
nor use it as bait for the judges with intent that ye may
eat up wrongfully and knowingly a little of (other) people's
property.” (2)
Theft is an indication
of one’s degradation. Committing of this moral baseness
upsets the order of society. The spread of this evil behavior
spoils the felling of trust among people and gives place
to distrust and disorder. This situation destroys the peace
of society. Whereas Islam set five basic principles which
provide peace of society:
1. Safety of Religion
2. Safety of Mind
3. Security of Property
4. Security of Life
5. Protection of Generation
These five principles
are the highest moral rules to provide the order in the
lives of people and society that humanity can reach. Today
the Declaration of Human rights is known all over the world
but it shouldn’t be forgotten that Islam provided
this fourteen centuries ago.
The arrangement of Islam,
the severe punishment that will be sentenced to the people
who commit theft has great wisdom and justice to prevent
others from committing this evil behavior. Beside its damage
to social order, theft is also an injustice against the
person whose property is stolen. Who commits this crime
also commits two great sins: One of them is to acquire property
in an unlawful way by violating the system of law and moral
rules of society. And the second one is to violate the right
of a person.
By drawing attention
to the harms of theft, Islam stressed the importance of
taking necessary measures against the spread of it. To provide
this, at first Islam applies the principles of social justice
in a way that compromise all sections of society. While
it promotes the moral education of the individual Islam
also removes the causes which lead people to theft. (3)
-------------------------------------------
(1) Chapter Necm, /39.
(2)Chapter Bakara, 2/188.
(3) The Classes of Ethics, V. Aydin.
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