What is the ruling on one who kills herself, and is it permissible to supplicate for her mercy?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
She says: I had a sister who was sixteen years old. She quarreled with her sister and swallowed some pills as a threat. She kept saying, "I do not want to die," but she died in the hospital. Will her young age be an intercession for her? Perhaps she did not fully understand or remember part of what she did.
The Shaykh:
How old was she?
The questioner:
Sixteen.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. To proceed: Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has forbidden the Muslim to kill himself. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:[An-Nisa 4:29-30]. He, the Exalted, said: [Al-Baqarah 2:195]. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever kills himself with a blade will have that blade in his hand, stabbing himself with it in the Fire of Hell. Whoever throws himself from a mountain and dies will keep falling into the Fire of Hell. Whoever drinks poison to kill himself will have that poison in his hand, drinking it in the Fire of Hell." The warning in this is severe. However, forgiveness is hoped for the Muslim, even if he killed himself. This is a major sin among the major sins, but it is less than shirk (associating partners with Allah).
Allah the Exalted says:[An-Nisa 4:48]. So this woman committed a major sin among the major sins, and a severe warning applies to her, unless Allah forgives her, unless Allah forgives her.
The questioner:
She asks: Is it permissible for us to supplicate for her forgiveness and mercy?
The Shaykh:
Yes, supplicate for her forgiveness and mercy, and seek forgiveness for her, because she is a Muslim and did not leave Islam by doing so, even though she committed a major sin among the major sins.
She says: I had a sister who was sixteen years old. She quarreled with her sister and swallowed some pills as a threat. She kept saying, "I do not want to die," but she died in the hospital. Will her young age be an intercession for her? Perhaps she did not fully understand or remember part of what she did.
The Shaykh:
How old was she?
The questioner:
Sixteen.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. To proceed: Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has forbidden the Muslim to kill himself. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:
And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful. (30) And whoever does that in aggression and injustice - then We will drive him into a Fire. And that, for Allah, is [always] easy.
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ عُدْوَانًا وَظُلْمًا فَسَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِ نَارًا وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًاand do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]
وَلَا تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِAllah the Exalted says:
Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُThe questioner:
She asks: Is it permissible for us to supplicate for her forgiveness and mercy?
The Shaykh:
Yes, supplicate for her forgiveness and mercy, and seek forgiveness for her, because she is a Muslim and did not leave Islam by doing so, even though she committed a major sin among the major sins.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما حكم من قتلت نفسها، وهل يجوز الدعاء لها بالرحمة؟ الشيخ صالح بن فوزان الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.