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 Prohibitions |
What
is life?
The
Islamic concept
The
philosophy of joy and pain
The
classical origin of suicide
The
traditions of the Testaments
The
Qur'anic decree
The
modern implications
Why
suicide?!?
The
statistical domain
The
deterrent factor
Out
of all the bounties Allah has bestowed upon human beings, the most precious
is the gift of life. Each one us should remember that this life Allah has
granted us, it is not our personal possession or our personal property.
In-fact it is a trust from Allah, making us merely trustees. Because we
are trustees we should utilise each and every moment of our lives in the
paths that please Allah.
In one verse of the Quraan
Allah informs mankind,
"And I (Allah) created
not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)". (Surah
Adh-Dhariyat Verse 56)
From this verse we can
learn the reason why Allah created mankind.
How precious is this gift
of life, we can learn through the Holy Quraan, Ahadeeth (Traditions and
Sayings of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) and the Shariah (Islamic
Law).
For instance, in one verse
of the Quraan, Allah says,
"He has forbidden you only
the carrion (flesh of dead animals), and blood, and flesh of swine, and
that which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah (or has
been slaughtered for idols, on which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned
whilst slaughtering). But if one is forced by necessity without wilful
disobedience nor transgressing due limits, then there is no sin on him.
Truly, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."(Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 173)
In the closing stages of
this verse Allah talks about one who is forced to consume Haraam (unlawful)
items due to the fear of death. Allah says, then there is no sin in him.
For example, one is in severe hunger, such hunger that could lead to ones
death, he consumes something that is Haraam (unlawful) e.g. Carrion, on
the Day of Judgement he will not be questioned regarding these Haraam (Unlawful)
items he consumed in order to save his life. Similarly one is fasting in
the Month of Ramadhaan and severe thirst over-takes him, again it is permissible
for him to break his fast in order to saves ones life. Even if he broke
the fast by consuming Haraam (Unlawful) fluids e.g. Blood, Alcohol he will
not be questioned regarding this. From this verse we can undoubtedly acknowledge
how precious and valuable life is in the eyes of The Almighty Allah.
Life
in many people’s opinion is a journey. Some even sees it as a pilgrimage.
In the Islamic perspective it is a journey far beyond death. It is like
a trip around the world. We stop in many different Continents, Countries,
Cities, Towns and Villages. Some bring happiness and some give us grief.
The white beaches, beautiful rainforests, buildings etc would force a smile
on the face of many a person regardless of what grief he is in, but the
sight of the poor, war-stricken and weak will give one intense grief. Life
is a test from Allah, He tests people in various ways and times. He tests
some by blessing them with countless bounties to see if the servant appreciates
what he has been blessed with by Allah and he shows gratitude towards Allah
for blessing him with these bounties. At times Allah in his infinite wisdom,
puts a person in intense grief, to see if the servant turns to Allah and
seeks guidance and help.
Excellent examples of both
situations are found in the life and story of the Prophet of Allah, Ayyub
(AS). Allah granted him many bounties, then he gave him such illness that
the people around him could not bear. Prophet Ayyub (AS) turned to Allah
for help and Allah in his infinite mercy returned all the past bounties
upon him. In some narrations it has been said that Allah gave him more
bounties than the amount he had before his illness.
In the Quraan Allah has
mentioned the call for help of Prophet Ayyub (AS). Allah says:
"And (Remember) Ayyub (Job),
when he cried to his Lord: "Verily, distress has seized me, and you are
the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy". So We answered his call,
and removed the distress that was on him, and We restored his family to
him (that he had lost) and the like thereof along with them as a mercy
from Ourselves and a reminder for all those who worship Us. (Surah Al-Anbiya
Verse 83-84)
In another Surah of the
Quraan Allah says regarding Prophet Ayyub (AS):
"And remember Our slave
Ayyub (Job), when he invoked his Lord (saying):"Verily Satan has touched
me with distress (by ruining my health) and torment (by ruining my wealth)!
(Allah said to him): "Strike the ground with your foot: This is (a spring
of) water to wash in, cool and a (refreshing) drink". And We gave him back
his family, and along with them the like thereof, as a Mercy from Us, and
a Reminder for those who understand."And take in your hand a bundle of
thin grass and strike therewith (your wife), and break not your oath. Truly,
We found him patient. How excellent a slave! Verily, he was ever oft- returning
in repentance (to Us).
Like Prophet Ayyub, each
and every one of us is tested by Allah in someway or another. Some turn
to Allah and seek help, as in the case of Prophet Ayyub and others turn
completely to the opposite side, which leaves many in grief. These people
upon whom many grieve and mourn are the people who have turned to suicide.
Suicide,
or self-killing, has been known throughout the whole of recorded history
and has been a phenomenon in every culture and social setting. It was noted
in the Biblical Times within the Jewish and Christian faiths. It is mentioned
in the Bhagavad Gita within the Hindu faith, in classical Greece and Rome,
and later throughout the Middle-Ages, when the reaction to the heresy of
suicide was severe hostility from the Universal Church, whose later fathers
railed against the canonical sin of despair.
Suicide occurs in every
culture, not only in the Western developed world, but also in India, China
and, despite severe theological prohibitions, in Islam.
Within
the Judaeo-Christian tradition, there are eleven instances of suicide described
in the Bible's Old Testament and one in the New Testament. Perhaps the
most famous death in the former is the suicide of King Saul following his
defeat in the hands of the Philistines, heard in David’s lament, and ‘how
are the mighty fallen’. Saul had sought the assistance of his bodyguard
to help kill himself. The soldier was horrified at the irreligious notion
of killing his appointed King, and turned the sword upon himself. Saul,
apparently aided by such an example, then followed suit. It appears that
the avert prohibition against suicide was first formerly pronounced by
Saint Augustine, who in his City of God describes the action as a ‘moral
sin’.
The Church did not always
condemn suicide when, for example, following some severe assault, such
as rape, the victim took a ‘virtuous’ or honourable way out. She could
then claim sympathy and the forgiveness of her society and family, in both
Roman and Christian times.
As
shown, neither the Judaic nor Christian parts of the Bible are there direct
injunctions against suicide. However, this is not the case in the traditions
of the true religion, Islam, which continues to be a major influence upon
many Islamic people.
There are a few quite specific
sanctions expressed in the Quraan against self-killing. The Prophet Muhammad
(SAW) also assigns suicide to the lower levels of Hell.
Allah says explicitly in
the Quraan,
"And do not kill yourselves.
Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you". (Surah An-Nisa Verse 29)
In another verse of the
Quraan, Allah says:
"And do not throw yourselves
in destruction". (Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 195)
The impact of this injunction
still has considerable force in Islamic countries, and it may be one reason
why, with the exception of Jordan and Turkey, there is no recorded suicide
in national statistics of the Islamic Nations. But, in the last decade
or so there has been a substantial increase of suicide in Muslims living
in Non-Muslim countries, namely Britain and America.
The current attitude and dilemmas, unlike in previous times, suicide can be discussed relatively easily today, even within the mass media of the late twentieth century. For example, in the worldwide magazine Time there have been three major articles concerning suicide, which while acknowledging dilemmas, were mainly concerned with where firm baselines should be drawn, accepting without question the ‘obvious’ rationality of such actions in many situations. Yet a little more than 100 years ago, Robert Louis Stevenson, in what was considered to be a horrendous book, The Suicide Club, found himself almost at the extreme end of the case of language, because he could not describe in sufficiently villainous terms the leader of this ‘devilish’ club. Constantly, modern poets and novelist have almost celebrated suicide.
The
reasons that lead a person to commit suicide are as numerous and complex
as the thousands of people who do so every year. Below are a few contributing
causes of suicide:
Unipolar affective disorder
(Depression)
The mental disorder usually
called ‘depression’ is now described as ‘unipolar affective disorder’.
The term depression is of course problematic, in that a low mood, or sometimes
a feeling of emotional glumness, of living ‘out of sorts’ or ‘fed up’,
is a frequent experience for many people. In this sense it is ‘normal’
and many people can feel ‘depressed’ without having depression. There is
another side to this coin, where a person can feel particularly well, ‘on
a high’ or with a feeling of well being. This can be the experience of
a large number of people without it being felt, thought or obseverd as
a problem or a disorder. A person simply feels in a ‘good mood’.
The causes of depression
are many:
1. Mood: There is a profound
disturbance of mood, which is one of the prevailing sadness and misery.
2. Cognition (To think
deeply): There is an important disturbance of cognition, so that everything
around them is interpreted dismally. Sufferers can believe they are hateful,
worthless and, at the extreme, that they are already dead and responsible
for the evils in the world.
3. Energy: There are very
often tell-tale changes in mood and energy, in which the mood is especially
low in the early morning hours, with relative lighting of misery in the
afternoon.
4. Sleep: There is a disturbance
of sleep, where it is quite usual for a person to be able to sleep almost
as soon as going to bed, but with early waking, sometimes accompanied by
quite enclosed changes of mood.
5. Appetite: There is a
loss in appetite, and an apparently liked food turns to such, that you
cannot bear the sight of it.
6. Stress: Stress at work,
home, school etc can cause severe depression which can lead to suicide.
Isolation and detachment
One of the most common
sentiments expressed by many of those who resort to suicidal behaviour
is a sense of detachment from others. This is not so much physical isolation
but refers more to a sense of moral insulation, where the individual has
come to define his, or her, situation as so hopeless that others cannot
help to put it right.
Substance misuse (Drugs
and alcohol)
Addiction to drugs and
alcohol, in this day and age, has become a major factor, which leads a
person to suicide. In the past few months the media around the world have
shown many cases of suicide due to drug use. Some have also predicted if
drugs like cannabis was to be made legal, the death toll will increase
due to this. The media have shown the devastating effects suicide has on
the society around the world through drug use.
Loss of family or friends
One may feel isolated after
the death or separation from family members or friends. Loss of a relative/friend
causes immense grief, which may cause one to think about suicide. Some
commit suicide thinking they will join the dead in the grave.
Relationship break-ups
This many times has the
same effect as the death of a loved one. Sometimes it may, make some feel
life is not worth living.
Financial problems
One who is large debts,
thinking he will never be able to pay-up and may resort to suicide, thinking
he will no more have this burdensome responsibility on his head, leaving
his next of kin this problem.
Sickness and disability
Severe sicknesses, which
one cannot bear, can lead one to take his life. In many cases taking help
from others in doing this act (Euthanasia).
(Above are only a few reasons why one may resort into taking his own life. Many others can be found through thorough research.)
Few events in life have
the same impact on us as the suicide of a friend or a loved one. The loss
of a loved one, from any cause, brings out intense grief and mourning.
The response and emotions felt by the bereaved following suicide are very
different to those felt after other types of deaths. The fact that a loved
one's death appears to involve an element of choice, raise painful questions
which deaths from natural or accidental causes do not. Bereavement by suicide
is usually prolonged. The grief is characterised by agonising, questioning
and the search for some explanation as to why the death of his loved one
has happened. Bereavement in this way often encompasses strong feelings
of abandonment and rejection.
The sense of shock and
disbelief following suicide is very intense. The most common and disturbing
aspect of grief after suicide is recurring images of death, even if it
was not witnessed. The finding of the body can be a traumatic experience.
Going over and over the very frightening and painful images of the death,
and the feelings these create, is a normal process of grief.
Newly
bereaved people always ask ‘why?’ However bereavement through suicide often
involves a prolonged search for a reason or explanation to tragedy. Most
people bereaved by suicide usually come to accept that they will never
know the reason why a loved one did what they did. In the search for answers,
different members of the same family may have different ideas as to why
he/she took their life, it could strain family relationships, especially
if an element of blame is involved.
Below, I have included
statistics, which I have obtained for many different sources, including
The Samaritans (www.thesamaritans.org).
· The World Health
Organisation estimates that in the year 2002 approximately 1.1million people
will die from suicide
· A global mortality
rate of 17 per 100,000
· One death every
40 seconds from suicide
· In the last 45
years suicide rates have increased by 65% worldwide.
· Suicide is now
among the three leading causes of death amongst those aged 14-44(both sexes)
· Suicide attempts
are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicide
· Although suicide
rates have traditionally been highest amongst the elderly, rates among
young people have been increasing to such a rate that they are now the
group at highest risk in a third of all countries
· More people die
from suicide than homicide in the USA, in 1997 there were 1.5 times as
many suicides as homicide
· Mental disorders
(particularly depression and substance abuse) are associated with more
than 90% of all causes of suicide
· Males are four
times more likely to die from suicide than women are. However , females
are more likely to attempt suicide than males
· 2 suicides every
day by young people in the UK and Republic of Ireland
· 80% of suicides
by young men
· Suicide accounts
for a fifth of all deaths of young people
· An estimated 24,000
adolescents self-harmed in 1998 – 3 every hour
· Alcohol and substance
misuse are significant factors in youth suicide
· Contributory factors
to youth suicide include unemployment, social isolation, recent inter personal
life events and difficulties with parents, peers and partners
· 6,216 suicides
in the UK, 439 suicides in the Republic of Ireland
· One suicide every
79 minutes in the UK and the Republic of Ireland
· More than two
young people commit suicide every day in the UK
· Suicide figures
are double the death toll from road traffic accidents
· Suicide is now
the second most common cause of death in the UK for young people aged between
15-24
· People who make
suicide attempts or threats are not just "attention seeking", but are at
the risk of harming themselves
· Most suicidal
people are undecided about living or dying, and try beforehand to let others
know how they are feeling, or give clues or warnings
· Somebody tries
to take his own life every three minutes
· In any given week,
at least 463,000 people have serious thoughts about suicide
· Every year around
2500 children or young people phone child-line about feeling suicidal
· Overdosing accounts
for 50% of female suicides and 25% of male suicides
· Under 25 year
olds account for 9.26% of all suicides in East Lancashire. Of which 2.3%
are of Asian heritage
Statistics about suicide are difficult to collate, and many are inaccurate because of the sensitivity of the issue. According to some research suicide rates are 50%-60% higher than the official rate.
There are three areas where the law is relevant to suicide. First, while attempting to commit suicide has not been illegal in Britain since 1961, it is still a criminal offence under the ‘Suicide Act 1961’ to help someone commit suicide. Second, health professionals who do not take reasonable precautions to safeguard a suicidal patient who then goes on to commit suicide may be sued for negligence in the civil courts. Third, in some cases, people felt to be at grave risk of harming themselves can be detained for their own safety under the ‘Mental Health Act 1983’ (England and Wales), 1984 (Scotland), or ‘Mental Health Order 1986’ (Northern Ireland).
Our Beloved Prophet Muhammad
(SAW) mentioned suicide many times, a few of these incidents are recorded
in Muhammad Ibn Ismael's, 'Sahih Al-Bukhari'. In one incident narrated
by Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak (RA): the Prophet (SAW) said, "Whoever intentionally
swears falsely by a religion other than Islam, then he is what he has said,
(e.g. if he says, 'If such thing is not true then I am a Jew,' he is really
a Jew if he is a liar). And whoever commits suicide with a piece of iron,
he will be punished with the same piece of iron in the Hell-fire."
Narrated by Jundub: The
Prophet (SAW) said, "A man was inflicted with wounds and he commited suicide,
and so Allah said: My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly, so I
forbid Paradise for him."
Narrated by Abu Hurairah
(RA): The Prophet (SAW) 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, he shall keep stabbing himself in the Hell-fire
(forever)."
From the sayings of Allah
and his Prophet (SAW), we can see suicide is not accepted in Islam and
we can also see through other sources, it is also prohibited in other religions.
If one is thinking of committing suicide he should think about his friends and family, then he should turn to Allah and ask for his help. Talking to the Scholars and others would also help. Confidential information is also available through your GP. Many centres also offer help for people in these troubled times.
May Allah save us from this sin and give us all guidance to the straight path. May Allah save us from all types of grief and give us all entrance into Paradise.
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