“Whoever kills himself with a blade, his blade will be in his hand, and he will keep stabbing himself in the belly with it in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein forever, eternally.” What is the nature of this eternity?

The questioner : His saying (peace and blessings be upon him), as in Sahih Muslim: The hadith; so what is the nature of this eternity, and does it imply disbelief?

The Shaykh : Yes, the apparent meaning of the hadith is that this applies to one who considers suicide permissible. He is, as stated in the hadith, abiding therein forever, eternally. Disbelief, in our view, is of two types, as the scholars of knowledge and investigation state: doctrinal disbelief and practical disbelief. If a person commits the act of disbelievers but acknowledges the error of this act, believing it to be wrong in accordance with the Shari'ah, yet his desires and his soul that commands evil overpowered him, then his disbelief is practical disbelief. However, if it is accompanied by the heart’s consideration of it as permissible, that is doctrinal disbelief, and by it a Muslim exits the religion. Thus, this is attributed to one whose disbelief is doctrinal, because only one who is a disbeliever associating partners with Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) abides in the Fire forever.