Short answer
Yes. Taking your own life is a major sin, because your life belongs to Allah. But a Muslim who dies by suicide is still a Muslim, the Hanafi school prays janazah for them, and their case is with Allah, the Most Merciful. If you are thinking of ending your life, please reach out now: in the US, call or text 988.
Suicide is haram and a major sin, but it is not disbelief unless the person held it to be permissible. In the relied-upon Hanafi position the person is washed and the janazah prayer is offered for them, and Muslims should pray for their forgiveness.
Other madhhabs
- Hanbali
- The ruler or main imam does not lead the funeral prayer for someone who took their own life, as a deterrent, but the rest of the people pray it.
Explanation
If you are struggling right now, you are not alone, and the pain you feel can ease. Please talk to someone today: a person you trust, an imam or a doctor. In the US, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. In the UK and Ireland, call Samaritans on 116 123. Anywhere else, call your local emergency number. Allah says, "Do not despair of the mercy of Allah." Asking for help is not weakness. It is a way of holding on to that mercy.
The Quran says, "Do not kill yourselves. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful." The Prophet ﷺ gave serious warnings about suicide. He told of a man with a wound who could not bear it and cut his hand until he died, and that Allah said, "My servant hastened to bring about his own end." These warnings exist to protect life.
There is hope too. A Companion who migrated to Madinah fell ill, could not bear the pain, and cut his finger joints until he died. He was later seen in a dream, forgiven because of his hijrah, except for his hands. The Prophet ﷺ prayed, "O Allah, forgive his hands as well." Ahl al-Sunnah hold that a Muslim who commits a major sin is not a disbeliever. Allah knows what illness and pain a person was carrying, and He judges with perfect justice and mercy.
If someone close to you is struggling, listen without lecturing, stay with them, and help them get professional help (see depression and iman). If you have lost someone this way, pray janazah for them, make dua for them and do not speak ill of them. See dua for the deceased.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:29
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَٰرَةً عَن تَرَاضٍۢ مِّنكُمْ ۚ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًۭا ﴿٢٩﴾
O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.
Taking one's own life is forbidden, and the verse closes with Allah's mercy.
Quran, Surah Az-Zumar 39:53
۞ قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ﴿٥٣﴾
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
No one should give up hope in Allah's mercy.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3463
Sahih... بادرني عبدي بنفسه حرمت عليه الجنة ...
"My servant hastened to bring about his own end, so I have forbidden Paradise for him."
A severe warning that shows the gravity of suicide.
Sahih Muslim 116
Sahih... اللهم وليديه فاغفر ...
"O Allah, forgive his hands as well."
The Prophet prayed for a Muslim who had taken his own life in illness and despair.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Salah, Bab Salat al-Janazah. One who kills himself, even deliberately, is washed and prayed over, and this is the fatwa position.
- Kashshaf al-Qina, Kitab al-Jana'iz, on the funeral prayer. The Hanbali view that the imam does not lead the prayer for one who killed himself.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.