Is the suicide victim prayed over and washed, or not?
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The questioner : Is the suicide victim prayed over and washed, or not?
The Shaykh : The suicide victim, may Allah protect us from that, killed himself intentionally without right. His suicide is a sign of his foolishness, because by committing suicide he thinks he is escaping the trial and distress he is in, but he is only escaping into something narrower and a more severe trial. He is like one who seeks shelter from the scorching heat by jumping into the fire. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that whoever kills himself with something will be punished with it in the Fire of Hell, remaining there forever, eternally, may Allah protect us from that. Whoever kills himself with a blade will be in Hell, slitting his own throat with that blade. Likewise, whoever drinks poison until he dies will drink it in the Fire of Hell. Whoever throws himself from a mountain or drops himself from a wall, that will be done to him in the Fire of Hell, remaining there forever, eternally. So, suicide does not solve the problem, nor does it remove the distress or the worry; rather, it increases the evil for the suicide victim.
If a person commits suicide, and he is a Muslim, he is prayed over, washed, shrouded, and prayed over. However, if the leader of the tribe, the judge of the town, or the prominent person in the town who has status in the society sees that he should not be prayed over, then that is better. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought a man who had killed himself with a spear, and he did not pray over him. As for the other people, they pray over him and ask for mercy for him, because he does not become an apostate by committing suicide, but he has committed a great major sin from among the sins. We ask Allah for safety.
In summary, the suicide victim is washed, shrouded, prayed over, and buried in the Muslim cemeteries if he is a Muslim. However, if the leader of the people sees that he should not be prayed over as a deterrent to others, then that is good, following the example of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : The suicide victim, may Allah protect us from that, killed himself intentionally without right. His suicide is a sign of his foolishness, because by committing suicide he thinks he is escaping the trial and distress he is in, but he is only escaping into something narrower and a more severe trial. He is like one who seeks shelter from the scorching heat by jumping into the fire. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that whoever kills himself with something will be punished with it in the Fire of Hell, remaining there forever, eternally, may Allah protect us from that. Whoever kills himself with a blade will be in Hell, slitting his own throat with that blade. Likewise, whoever drinks poison until he dies will drink it in the Fire of Hell. Whoever throws himself from a mountain or drops himself from a wall, that will be done to him in the Fire of Hell, remaining there forever, eternally. So, suicide does not solve the problem, nor does it remove the distress or the worry; rather, it increases the evil for the suicide victim.
If a person commits suicide, and he is a Muslim, he is prayed over, washed, shrouded, and prayed over. However, if the leader of the tribe, the judge of the town, or the prominent person in the town who has status in the society sees that he should not be prayed over, then that is better. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought a man who had killed himself with a spear, and he did not pray over him. As for the other people, they pray over him and ask for mercy for him, because he does not become an apostate by committing suicide, but he has committed a great major sin from among the sins. We ask Allah for safety.
In summary, the suicide victim is washed, shrouded, prayed over, and buried in the Muslim cemeteries if he is a Muslim. However, if the leader of the people sees that he should not be prayed over as a deterrent to others, then that is good, following the example of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.