Man cuts off hands to stop himself from stealing

An Egyptian man who could not stop stealing despite his strong feeling of guilt finally resorted to a macabre solution to win what he described as a “pitched battle” against the devil — by cutting off both hands.

Ali Afifi, 27, went to the main train station in the western Egyptian town of Tanta four years ago and waited for the train to come his way before putting his hand under its wheels as hundreds of passengers watched in horror.
When his father learned of what happened, he was so shocked that he decided to send him to an asylum.

“When I was later released from the asylum a few months ago, I cut the other hand off to make sure I will never steal again,” he told Egyptian newspapers.

Afifi said he had asked a local Muslim scholar to have his hands severed because he could not stop stealing "after losing the war against the devil".

“But the Sheikh refused my request, saying he is not a ruler or in a decision-making position to take such a decision…he advised me to repent and seek God’s help…I then decided to cut my hands off.”