September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. According to the World Health Organisation every forty seconds, a person dies by suicide somewhere in the world and many more attempt suicide.

The figures are stark; suicide is the 14th leading cause of death worldwide.

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What is Islam’s response to this? Suicide undertaken in a rational state of mind is considered a sin and is forbidden in Islam because God is the Creator of all human life. The giving and taking of human life are therefore His Divine right. 2/n

#SuicidePreventionDay

Human beings have been entrusted their lives by God and are responsible for their care and safe keeping. The act of suicide is a statement of hopelessness that things cannot change and by extension, that God will not hear the prayer of the sufferer and deny His mercy. 3/n

‘And kill not yourselves. Surely, Allah is Merciful to you.’

While God forbids suicide, He also assures His servants that turning to their Creator when misfortune befalls them will bring them out of every misery.

‘Allah burdens not any soul beyond its capacity.’

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Once, a person wrote a long letter to the Promised Messiah (as) saying that the hardships and difficulties he was facing were unbearable and expressed that due to these hardships he had grown so weary that he intended to commit suicide.

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#SuicidePrevention

Suicide is a sin and does not render any benefit or comfort for a person. This is bcz a person’s life does not come to an end upon dying, rather a new life begins. One may be facing difficulties in this world, but if one moves on to the next life with the displeasure of God

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then the difficulties of the hereafter will be much greater than the hardships of this world. Thus, what benefit can be rendered by committing suicide?

One should immerse themselves in patiently praying to Allah Almighty and attempt to improve their condition.

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Q.) What we can do at our end to help the person?

A.) As individuals we need to look out for those around us who maybe suffering. We need to let them know that we are prepared to hear their suffering and want to help them.

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Simple as helping them to seek professional help, or checking on someone who seems to have disengaged from friends & family by asking how they are & taking an interest in what they say. This is true for young people who are exposed to damaging content on social media.

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It is easy to forget that all images on social media are usually edited, creating fantasies of people living exciting lives. The reality is often far from that. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad (rta) wrote about the human condition in Revelation, Rationality, knowledge and truth.

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If anyone of you would like to read the full article, here is the link @ReviewReligions . https://twitter.com/ReviewReligions/status/1304011715277991938?s=19

Typo.

At the beginning of the 6/n.

"Promised Messaih A.S wrote in response, Suicide is a sin...."