Transliteration:( Faman taaba mim ba'di zulmihee wa aslaha fa innal laaha yatoobu 'alaih; innal laaha Ghafoorur Raheem )
Then whosoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms himself, then Allah will turn to him with His Mercy. Indeed, Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful [125].
The phrase “from those who repent” implies that even after the punishment (such as the cutting off of the hand) has been executed, the thief should sincerely repent.
Repentance here means the thief acknowledges his wrongdoing and reforms his behavior, turning away from theft and sin.
Allah’s mercy is emphasized as He accepts the repentance of the sinner who reforms sincerely, no matter the severity of the past wrongdoing.
The punishment of cutting off the hand applies only if the value of the stolen goods reaches a certain minimum:
This minimum was two and three-quarters rupees, or equivalently ten dirhams (the currency standard at the time of the commentators).
The case must be taken to the local authority (Islamic judicial system).
Theft should be proven either by the thief’s confession or by the testimony of two credible witnesses.
Before the case is brought to the authority, it is considered a violation of human rights—which the victim can pardon.
Once the case is officially processed by the authority, it becomes a violation of Divine rights (Hudood) which cannot be pardoned by the victim because it is an offense against the law of Allah.
The tafsir of Surah Maidah verse 39 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Maidah ayat 38 which provides the complete commentary from verse 38 through 40.
(5:39) But he who repents after he has committed wrong, and makes amends, Allah will graciously turn to him.[61] Truly Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.
61. Forgiveness on the part of Allah does not mean that the hand of the thief should not be cut off. It means rather that one who repents and becomes righteous by purging his soul of the sin of stealing will be spared the wrath of God, Who will remove the stain of that sin from him. But if after his hand has been cut off the person concerned does not purge himself of evil intent and continues to nurture the same impure feelings which led to his stealing and thus to the cutting off of his hand, it is evident that even though his hand has been severed from his body, stealing remains ingrained in his soul. The result will be that he will continue to merit God’s wrath as he did before his hand was cut off. The Qur’an therefore directs the thief to seek pardon from God and to try to reform himself. For the hand of that thief was cut off for the sake of the judicious administration of human society and the cutting off of a hand did not automatically purify the soul of the person on whom the punishment was carried out. Purity of soul can be achieved only by repentance and turning oneself to God. Traditions mention that after the hand of a thief had been cut off in compliance with the Prophet’s order, he was summoned by the Prophet (peace be on him) himself who said to him: ‘Say: “I seek pardon from God, and to Him do I turn in repentance.'” The thief uttered these words as directed by the Prophet (peace be on him) who then prayed for the thief, saying: ‘O God, accept his repentance.’ (Abu Da’ud, Hudud’, 8 – Ed.)
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