What Is the Ruling on Suicide in Islam?
ما حكم الانتحار (قتل الإنسان نفسه)؟
Killing oneself is forbidden by Allah. And whoever kills himself, whatever the circumstances, commits a clear sin.
(Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Come! Let me recite to you what your Lord has forbidden to you: do not associate others with Him ˹in worship˺. ˹Do not fail to˺ honour your parents. Do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for you and for them. Do not come near indecencies, openly or secretly. Do not take a ˹human˺ life, made sacred by Allah, except with ˹legal˺ right. This is what He has commanded you, so perhaps you will understand.) [Al-An’am 6:151]
(Do not take a ˹human˺ life, made sacred by Allah, except with ˹legal˺ right.) [Al-Isra 17:33]
قتل النفس محرم عند الله. ومن قتل نفسه مهما تكن الظروف، فقد ارتكب إثما مبينا.
(قُلْ تَعَالَوْا أَتْلُ مَا حَرَّمَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ أَلَّا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ۖ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ۖ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُم مِّنْ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ ۖ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ) [الأنعام 6: 151]
(وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ) [الإسراء 17: 33]
1. Do Not Kill Yourselves | ولا تقتلوا أنفسكم
And do not kill each other or yourselves. Surely Allah is ever Merciful to you (4:29). Ibn Kathir explains that Allah is merciful to us in what He commands and what He forbids, and he relates that Amr ibn al-As, who had a wet dream on a bitterly cold night and feared he would die if he bathed, recalled this verse, performed tayammum and led his companions in prayer; when he told the Prophet, the Prophet laughed and said nothing (Musnad Ahmad, reported by Ibn Kathir; similar in Sunan Abi Dawud 334, graded sahih by al-Albani). Allah’s mercy is explained in the Name Ar-Raheem, the Bestower of Mercy.
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا (سورة النساء: 29)
قال تعالى: (ولا تقتلوا أنفسكم إن الله كان بكم رحيما) (النساء 4: 29)، قال ابن كثير: (إن الله كان بكم رحيما) أي: فيما أمركم به ونهاكم عنه. وذكر أن عمرو بن العاص رضي الله عنه قال لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وقد تيمم وصلى بأصحابه: إني احتلمت في ليلة باردة شديدة البرد، فأشفقت إن اغتسلت أن أهلك، فذكرت قول الله عز وجل: (ولا تقتلوا أنفسكم إن الله كان بكم رحيما)، فتيممت ثم صليت، فضحك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ولم يقل شيئا (رواه أحمد كما ذكر ابن كثير، ونحوه في سنن أبي داود 334، وصححه الألباني).
2. My Servant Hastened His Own Death | بدرني عبدي بنفسه
The Prophet said: A man had wounds and he killed himself, and Allah said: My servant hastened his death by his own hand; I have forbidden Paradise to him (Sahih al-Bukhari 1364). The scholar’s words, a clear sin whatever the circumstances, are this warning: pain does not make it lawful. Accountability itself is lifted from one who has lost his reason, as the Prophet said: The pen is lifted from three: from the sleeper until he wakes, from the child until he reaches puberty, and from the insane until he regains his reason (Sunan Abi Dawud 4403, graded sahih by al-Albani).
قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: "كان برجل جراح فقتل نفسه، فقال الله: بدرني عبدي بنفسه، حرمت عليه الجنة" (صحيح البخاري 1364)، وما جاء في الجواب من أن قاتل نفسه مهما تكن الظروف قد ارتكب إثما مبينا هو هذا الوعيد، فالألم لا يبيح قتل النفس، ويُرفع التكليف عمن فقد عقله، قال صلى الله عليه وسلم: "رفع القلم عن ثلاثة: عن النائم حتى يستيقظ، وعن الصبي حتى يحتلم، وعن المجنون حتى يعقل" (سنن أبي داود 4403، وصححه الألباني).
3. O Allah, Forgive His Hands Too | اللهم وليديه فاغفر
A man who migrated to Madinah with at-Tufayl ibn Amr fell ill there, lost patience, and cut the joints of his fingers with an arrowhead until he bled to death. At-Tufayl saw him in a dream in a good state but with his hands covered; the man said: My Lord forgave me because of my migration to His Prophet, and I was told: We will not mend in you what you spoiled. When at-Tufayl told the Prophet, the Prophet said: O Allah, forgive his hands too (Sahih Muslim 116).
هاجر مع الطفيل بن عمرو رجل من قومه، فاجتووا المدينة، فمرض فجزع، فأخذ مشاقص له فقطع بها براجمه، فشخبت يداه حتى مات، فرآه الطفيل بن عمرو في منامه، فرآه وهيئته حسنة، ورآه مغطيا يديه، فقال له: ما صنع بك ربك؟ فقال: غفر لي بهجرتي إلى نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال: ما لي أراك مغطيا يديك؟ قال: قيل لي: لن نصلح منك ما أفسدت، فقصها الطفيل على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "اللهم وليديه فاغفر" (صحيح مسلم 116).
4. Do Not Wish for Death | لا يتمنين أحدكم الموت
For one whom suffering brings to wish for death, the Prophet said: None of you should wish for death because of a harm that has befallen him; if he must, let him say: O Allah, keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and take me when death is better for me (Sahih al-Bukhari 5671). Why Allah tests His servants is explained in the wisdom behind the calamities that befall Allah’s creation and the trials of the believer in this worldly life.
قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: "لا يتمنين أحدكم الموت من ضر أصابه، فإن كان لا بد فاعلا فليقل: اللهم أحيني ما كانت الحياة خيرا لي، وتوفني إذا كانت الوفاة خيرا لي" (صحيح البخاري 5671).
Scholarly Insight: Ibn Kathir reads Do not kill each other or yourselves (4:29) more widely as well: by committing what Allah has forbidden, indulging in disobedience to Him, and consuming one another’s wealth unjustly; so ruining oneself through sin falls under the same prohibition. Read more in the tafsir of Surah An-Nisa.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What is the ruling on suicide in Islam?
Killing oneself is forbidden by Allah, and whoever kills himself, whatever the circumstances, commits a clear sin; accountability is lifted from one who has lost his reason (Sunan Abi Dawud 4403).
In which verse does Allah forbid killing oneself?
And do not kill each other or yourselves. Surely Allah is ever Merciful to you (4:29).
What did the Prophet say about a man who killed himself?
As a warning, the Prophet said of a man who killed himself that Allah said: My servant hastened his death by his own hand; I have forbidden Paradise to him (Sahih al-Bukhari 1364). Of another, whom at-Tufayl saw in a dream saying he had been forgiven because of his migration, the Prophet prayed: O Allah, forgive his hands too (Sahih Muslim 116).
What should a person say when suffering makes them wish for death?
The Prophet forbade wishing for death because of harm and taught: O Allah, keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and take me when death is better for me (Sahih al-Bukhari 5671).
Prepared by Eng. Ghada Homad, founder of IslamFAQ, researched and written in consultation with qualified scholars, reviewed by Professor Khaled Jassem Al-Houli, Associate Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Politics, Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies, University of Kuwait. Read more about the authors and this project →