Committing suicide is strictly forbidden in Islam
SUICIDE is one of the most important psychological problems worldwide. This phenomenon is almost unique to the human being, in which one deliberately and consciously decides to end his life.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 800000 people die each year due to suicide; and 10 to 20 suicide attempts occur per each suicide.
Suicide has many long detrimental effects on the family and society. For each suicide or attempted suicide, on average 5 people are affected by the severe and devastating psychological effects.
Allah explicitly condemns suicide in Quran by saying: and do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by (legal) right.
This has He instructed you that you may use reason, and do not kill yourselves (or one another).
Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful. This implies that it is obligatory to abandon suicide.
Therefore, one can concludes that suicide is absolutely forbidden in Islam. The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) has also condemned this practice in his hadiths.
For example, There was a man before you live, he was hurt and he could not tolerate it, so he took a knife and cut his hand, so he bled until he died, so God said: he hurried to kill himself, therefore, I forbade paradise for him.
And the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) also advised His followers not to wish for death. He says: No one should wish for death because of the injury that he has suffered.
Furthermore, self-preservation and no self-harm are so important in Islam that according to Quran eating pork and dead animals are permissible in the emergencies, or if fasting is exhausting in Ramadan for Muslims they are allowed to break it any time.
As a result, He says: When preserving life is so important under the Islamic values, suicide is not acceptable at all.
And He said: Whosoever kills himself with anything in this world will be tortured with it on the Day of Judgment.
Suicide is prohibited in Islamic law according to evidence from the Quran and Hadith. A person who commits suicide commits a major sin, though this does not take him outside of Islam.
It is impermissible to commit suicide to avoid evils such as rape and torture for instance. It is impermissible for a girl to commit suicide for fear of rape; she must defend herself against her attacker even if this means killing him.
If she is killed in the process, she is considered a martyr because she died to defend her honour.
The same applies to those who face humiliation and torture. They should resist their assailants and it is impermissible for them to commit suicide under the pretext that it is more honourable to kill themselves than to accept captivity and torture.
A Muslim is obligated to exercise patience at times of affliction and fight injustice to the best of his ability.
He is not commanded to commit suicide to escape afflictions. The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) said: Amongst the nations before you there was a man who got a wound and growing impatient (with its pain), he took a knife and cut his hand with it and the blood did not stop till he died.
Allah said, ‘My Slave hurried to bring death upon himself so I have forbidden him (to enter) Paradise.
Suicide is prohibited in Islam. You may say ‘I am free to kill myself. ’ No, you do not have this right as you are a slave of Allah.
Your death is not to be caused by yourself nor should you kill somebody else. Both suicide and homicide are unacceptable in Islam.
Any murderer is a big sinner who should also be killed, as a penalty in this world and Hell is what he deserves in the Hereafter.
Even he who commits suicide will be punished by Hell. Suicide is a major sin, and the one who does that is faced with a warning of eternity in the Fire of Hell, where Allah will punish him with the means that he used to commit suicide, on another place He said: Whoever throws himself down from a mountain and kills himself will be throwing himself down in the Fire of Hell for ever and ever.
Whoever drinks poison and kills himself will be sipping it in the Fire of Hell for ever and ever.
Whoever kills himself with a piece of iron will have that iron in his hand, thrusting it into his belly in the Fire of Hell for ever and ever.
Suicide is an absolute forbidden act in Islam, which has destructive consequences.
According to the results of the present study, hadiths and traditions of Islamic religion about suicide can be classified into three categories which include those prohibiting suicide, explaining the forms of suicide and the consequences of suicide.
The religious hadiths in Islam could be effective in preventing suicide. Remember that suicide may seem like an easy solution, but it is not the solution to any problem.
This is the beginning of many other problems, so value your life, value your relationships. Don’t let your mind become a place of negative thoughts.
Any problem starts with negative thoughts. Likewise, by adopting a positive attitude, we can get rid of many problems.
In today’s material age, every human being is looking for peace and Allah Almighty has placed peace in His remembrance.
— The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
