Sariful Islam
Suicide is a terrible word which means the act of killing oneself deliberately. This is why even the very mention of the word ‘suicide’ provokes in the listener’s mind images that he will surely feel disgusted with. It is a topic about which people, in general, would rather like to avoid hearing. Yet, nowadays you cannot help hearing about or reading news of suicide when you turn on your television set or have a glance at your newspaper in the morning. The unpleasant headlines often read like this – ‘so and so has hanged himself to death’ or ‘such and such person has poisoned herself to death’. And we usually prefer to avoid reading such news.
However, you may still agree with it that we cannot turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to such a problem that has taken the whole world in its grip today, however unpleasant the subject may be. Hence, let’s ponder the topic of suicide for a while, talk about things that are responsible for it and see how your faith in Islam can save you from falling prey to it.
Certainly, no one would like to die such an abominable death, then why should one commit such a horrible thing like suicide? There may be many reasons behind it, but let’s know about some common ones which frequently instigate people to commit suicide.
A first reason behind many people’s committing suicide is depression. Today a large number of people commit suicide having a history that they were suffering from depression for a period of time. American Journals of Psychiatry published an article in 2004 under the title of ‘Religious Affiliation and Suicide Attempt’, which said that their survey found that 79.5% people who attempted suicide had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, and 76 (20.5%) had bipolar disorder.
A second reason is enjoyment of excessive freedom in life. Certainly a person needs freedom in his life to some extent so that he may work freely and become happy and successful in his life. But even that freedom should have a limit-line; otherwise life loses all its charm for a person. To explain the matter, suppose, Johnson is a teenage boy who is eating and drinking his favorite food and drinks more than he wants every day. It is natural that because of this excessiveness, at one stage he will lose all his likings for that particular food and drinks. This is what today’s psychology tells us that any repetitive experience causes boredom. In fact, allowing excessive freedom in every aspect of life may create a vulnerable state for a person in which he may lose all his interest in life soon and increases the possibility for people to do self-destructive activities, including suicide.
Many people endeavoring for their intellectual improvements by studying western thoughts and philosophies often fall prey to some philosophical ideas like atheism, nihilism, existentialism etc. that try to show that life has no meaning and purpose and they deny the existence of God. It often makes many people extremely hopeless and pessimistic. Many tend to rely on these theories, as though they were facts.
Therefore, without having proper understanding of the use of these theories, those students start looking at life through the lens of these negative theories. And they end up losing their hopes and faith and making their minds melancholic. Their pessimism takes away the important things from their lives but do not give anything in return that could help them in life.
However, the research article of the American Journals of Psychiatry mentioned above also said that the patients with no religious affiliation were more often lifetime suicide attempters, reported more suicidal ideation, and were more likely to have first-degree relatives who had committed suicide than religiously affiliated subjects.
A fifth reason which can be said to be responsible for a large number of suicide cases is substance abuse, that is, the use of alcohol, drugs etc. World Health Organization (WHO) survey says that substance abuse was the cause of 1,75,000 out of the 8,00,000 suicides committed worldwide in 2012 – at least one in five.
Today, suicide is a leading cause of people’s death around the world. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) survey conducted from 2000 to 2016, nearly 8,00,000 people around the world die every year only by committing suicide. And if you calculate it further, around one crore people may die around the world in next thirteen years only by committing suicide, if the trend continues.
All these said about the reasons behind suicide, let’s now divert our attention to a different angle. Let’s see how Islam, a religion or a way of life, can help a person understand life and its purpose, and how it can save a believer from committing suicide, even at the moment of his greatest difficulty.
In the meantime, it is mentionable here that in order to understand anything in Islam, you have to look at two things; one is the holy Quran, the words of Almighty Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and another is the authentic Hadiths (the written records of the sayings and deeds of the prophet).
On the first place, in the holy Quran, in Surah Ar-Ra'd, chapter 13, verse number 28, Allah says, “Verily, in the remembrance of Allah doth hearts find satisfaction.” That means whenever a person finds himself sunken into depression, he should remember Allah and His grace and thus the person will surely get back his peace of mind and never commit suicide.
Secondly, Islam also says that this life is merely a test for the Hereafter. God is testing human being in different ways in this world and the duty of a man is to pass the test so that he may be rewarded by God in the Akherah, on the Day of Judgment. The Quran says in Surah Al-Bakarah, chapter 2, verse 155 to 156, “And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.’” Therefore, in the moment of difficulty, a believer should keep it in his mind and be patient, and then he will surely be saved.
Thirdly, committing suicide has been strictly been prohibited in Islam. Allah says in the holy Quran, in Surah Bakarah, chapter 2, verse 195, “…make not your own hands cause of your own destruction, for Allah loveth those who doth good.” Furthermore, in the holy Quran, in Surah an-Nisa, chapter 4, verse 29, Allah says, “And do not kill yourselves (or one another). Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.” Well, when our Creator is the Most Merciful and He can forgive us any sin if we repent, then why should one be so cruel to himself and commit suicide?
Moreover, the act of suicide has been discouraged in the Hadith as well. For example, it is mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari, volume-2, book-23, Book of Funerals, Hadith number 446, that Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, "He who commits suicide by throttling shall keep on throttling himself in the Hell Fire (forever) and he who commits suicide by stabbing himself shall keep on stabbing himself in the Hell-Fire."
Therefore, one should not commit suicide and close the door of receiving God’s mercy in the next life. The believers should never lose his hope, rather he should always keep in mind what Allah says in the glorious Quran (in Surah Ali ’Imran, chapter 3, verse 160), “If Allah helps you, none can overcome you. But if Allah forsakes you, then none can help you, and therefore let the believers put their trust in Allah.”
The writer is a freelancer
