The Ruling on One Who Kills Himself
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His Eminence the Shaykh: A question has become unclear to us, and it is this: Is the one who commits a major sin from the Ummah of Muhammad, such as one who kills himself, to remain in the Fire forever?
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that (whoever kills himself with a blade or poison will be tortured with it in the Fire of Hell, remaining there forever and ever) May Allah grant us safety. He said this as a deterrent; because killing oneself is the greatest of killings, since a person must defend himself more than he defends others. So how is it when he violates its sanctity with his own hand?! He will be even more sinful.And what is meant by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (remaining there forever and ever) is an exaggeration in the deterrence.And it resembles the saying of Allah the Exalted: [al-Nisa: 93] .
From this, it becomes clear that what the suicide bombers do in some regions, where they wear lethal items such as bombs or the like, and they are the first to die by them, falls under this warning. They are sinful and have erred with a great error. However, given that they are ignorant and that they are interpreting the matter, we hope that this warning does not include them. It is obligatory for us to make it clear to people that this is an unsound action, rather, it is forbidden.
And it is amazing that some people use as evidence for this forbidden matter, which is one of the major sins, the hadith of al-Bara' ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) when they besieged the garden of Musaylimah the Liar. The door was closed, so he asked his companions to throw him over the wall so he could open it for them. They did so, he opened it for them, and they entered the garden.
They used this story as evidence for the permissibility of suicide. Is there any evidence in this? There is no evidence in it; because al-Bara' ibn Malik remained alive, whereas the one who commits suicide is dead one hundred percent. As for al-Bara' ibn Malik, he did not kill himself. It is true that he took a risk, but there was a possibility that he would not be killed, and this is what actually happened; he was not killed.
The parallel to the story of al-Bara' ibn Malik is for one to enter with bravery between the ranks of the disbelievers and kill those to his right and left, but there is a possibility that he will escape. As for the suicide bomber, there is no possibility of his escape. For this reason, it is obligatory for us not to encourage this, but rather to warn against it.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that (whoever kills himself with a blade or poison will be tortured with it in the Fire of Hell, remaining there forever and ever) May Allah grant us safety. He said this as a deterrent; because killing oneself is the greatest of killings, since a person must defend himself more than he defends others. So how is it when he violates its sanctity with his own hand?! He will be even more sinful.And what is meant by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (remaining there forever and ever) is an exaggeration in the deterrence.And it resembles the saying of Allah the Exalted:
But whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment.
وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِناً مُتَعَمِّداً فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِداً فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَاباً عَظِيماًFrom this, it becomes clear that what the suicide bombers do in some regions, where they wear lethal items such as bombs or the like, and they are the first to die by them, falls under this warning. They are sinful and have erred with a great error. However, given that they are ignorant and that they are interpreting the matter, we hope that this warning does not include them. It is obligatory for us to make it clear to people that this is an unsound action, rather, it is forbidden.
And it is amazing that some people use as evidence for this forbidden matter, which is one of the major sins, the hadith of al-Bara' ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) when they besieged the garden of Musaylimah the Liar. The door was closed, so he asked his companions to throw him over the wall so he could open it for them. They did so, he opened it for them, and they entered the garden.
They used this story as evidence for the permissibility of suicide. Is there any evidence in this? There is no evidence in it; because al-Bara' ibn Malik remained alive, whereas the one who commits suicide is dead one hundred percent. As for al-Bara' ibn Malik, he did not kill himself. It is true that he took a risk, but there was a possibility that he would not be killed, and this is what actually happened; he was not killed.
The parallel to the story of al-Bara' ibn Malik is for one to enter with bravery between the ranks of the disbelievers and kill those to his right and left, but there is a possibility that he will escape. As for the suicide bomber, there is no possibility of his escape. For this reason, it is obligatory for us not to encourage this, but rather to warn against it.