Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

salamz,
i have just recently susbscribed to ur islamhelpline. and i am hoping that here i would be able to get clear answers to a lot of things that nag me or a lot of things which leave me confused. my question for today is, that in islam, suicide is considered a sin,but then again, it is our belief that every person has a fixed date at which they will die. so why when a person who is destined to die at a certain date commits suicide considered a sin, when he would have died anyway.

please explain.

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Answer:

Suicide and time of death

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His  forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: my question for today is, that in islam, suicide is considered a sin, but then again, it is our belief that every person has a fixed date at which they will die. so why when a person who is destined to die at a certain date commits suicide considered a sin, when he would have died anyway.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.1 Narrated by Umar bin Al Khattab

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions; and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended."

Indeed, the time and place of death of each individual is Decreed by Allah Subhanah! But when a person commits suicide, he is not being punished for dieing on a particular day or a particular place, but he is being punished for the grave sin of intending, and fulfilling his intention to take his life! If one commits any other sin (shirk, murder, zina, etc.), he has the opportunity to turn back to Allah Subhanah and seek His Forgiveness and Pardon because the door of Taubah is open until the time of one’s death; but when one commits suicide and takes his own life, he cannot even seek repentance as the door of Taubah is closed permanently with his death!

Suicide is considered a grave sin because of the role the person intended and played in the taking of his life; and not because of his place or manner or time of his death! He basically could not take or accept the tests Allah Subhanah put on him, and did not trust the Decree and Qadr of Allah of giving life and death; but rather, in his ignorance, he took the matter in his own hands and intended, and fulfilled his intention to kill himself! This intention, and the fulfilling of this his intention is what is the grave sin!; for after he has fulfilled this intention of suicide, he has lost the opportunity to seek repentance for his sin!

If your argument that “a person who is destined to die at a certain date, commits suicide, considered a sin, when he would have died anyway”, then the person who murders another person can use the same argument and say that he committed no sin in killing a person, because he was destined to die on that date: Would such an argument be accepted from him?

No, my beloved sister, the murderer’s (and the one who commits suicide) sin is that he intended and fulfilled his intention by taking a life that he had no right to take! The murderer, after having committed the murder has the opportunity to turn back to Allah Subhanah and seek forgiveness; but the one who commits suicide loses even that opportunity, for the doors of Taubah are closed with one’s death!

Thus it is the intention, and the fulfillment of that intention by playing the role with his own free will is what is considered the sin!

A similar theme is declared in one of the authentic hadiths of wisdom by the Messenger of Allah (saws):

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.14 Narrated by Al Ahnaf bin Qais

From Abu Bakr who heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying, 'If two Muslims meet each other with their swords, then (both) the killer and the killed are in the (Hell) Fire.' I asked, 'O Messenger of Allah (saws)! It is alright for the killer, but what about the killed one?' He (saws) replied, 'The killed one was eager to kill his opponent.' "

The Messenger of Allah (saws) declared that when two men fight and the one who kills another soul without just cause, and the one who is killed, both will be in Hell Fire! When asked why would the one who is killed be punished in Hell Fire, the Messenger of Allah (saws) replied that because if the one who was killed could have overpowered and killed his assailant, he would have done so; and that intention, and doing everything in his power to fulfill his intention is what is considered a grave sin.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan