"I was sleeping in the Masjid on a Khmaishah of mine that was worth thirty dirhams, and a man came and stole it from me. The man was caught and taken to the Prophet, who ordered that his hand be cut off. I came to him and said: "Will you cut off his hand for the sake of only thirty Dirhams? I will sell it to him on credit." He said:" Why did you not say this before you brought him to me?"
Sunan an-Nasa'i Book 46, Hadith 14