Suicide is one of the most common yet serious concerns, and a worldwide subject that individuals have debated from the past to the present. Suicidal ideation affects and disrupts the functionality of a human being regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or even religion. This article aims to discuss suicide in general and from an Islamic perspective in specific, as research has shown that an Islamically oriented approach and intervention works better with the Muslim population in general. The paper also aims to have a broader view of how Islam categorized suicide classically and its modern implications, which also lets us explore the similarities, and differences between the Islamic perspective and different religions about suicide and related mental health concerns. A collection of both classic and modern sources was used to extract information and provide a scope of definitions to clarify suicide and religiosity concerning the teachings and opinion of Islam about the meaning of life, afterlife, and soul. It was found that the Muslim population showed a lower rate of suicide in comparison to individuals from other religions, and religious individuals showed faster recovery from suicidal ideation. Yet, Muslims are not immune to mental health conditions that would result in suicide. Therefore, further studies and research need to be conducted to understand the huge stigma around Muslim about mental health and suicide in the Muslim communities, to compare the effectiveness among the religious and the non-religious Muslims, and lastly to fill the gap as to why the Muslim population tends to be hesitant in seeking help regarding their psychological problems.
References
[1]
Eghigian, G. (2018) A “Sickness of Our Time”: How Suicide First Became a Research Question. Psychiatric Times, 35, 11-13. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/sickness-our-time-how-suicide-first-became-research-question
[2]
Turecki, G., Brent, D.A., Gunnell, D., O’Connor, R.C., Oquendo, M.A., Pirkis, J. and Stanley, B.H. (2019) Suicide and Suicide Risk. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 5, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-019-0121-0
[3]
Kamal, Z. and Loewenthal, K.M. (2010) Suicide Beliefs and Behaviour among Young Muslims and Hindus in the UK. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 5, 111-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674670210141052
[4]
Lawrence, R.E., Oquendo, M.A. and Stanley, B. (2015) Religion and Suicide Risk: A Systematic Review. Archives of Suicide Research, 20, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2015.1004494
[5]
Stack, S. and Kposowa, A.J. (2011) Religion and Suicide Acceptability: A Cross-National Analysis. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 50, 289-306. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2011.01568.x
[6]
Tubergen, F.V. (2005) Denomination, Religious Context, and Suicide: Neo-Durkheimian Multilevel Explanations Tested with Individual and Contextual Data. American Journal of Sociology, 111, 797-823. https://doi.org/10.1086/497307
[7]
Eskin, M. (2004) The Effects of Religious versus Secular Education on Suicide Ideation and Suicidal Attitudes in Adolescents in Turkey. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 39, 536-542. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-004-0769-x
[8]
Stack, S. (1983) The Effect of Religious Commitment on Suicide: A Cross-National Analysis. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 362-374. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136402
[9]
Rasic, D., Robinson, J.A., Bolton, J., Bienvenu, O.J. and Sareen, J. (2011) Longitudinal Relationships of Religious Worship Attendance and Spirituality with Major Depression, Anxiety Disorders, and Suicidal Ideation and Attempts: Findings from the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 45, 848-854. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.11.014
[10]
The Nobel Qur’an (1984) Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur’an in the English Language. AI-Hilali, M.T.-u.-D. and Khan, M.M., Trans., King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur’an, Madinah.
[11]
Al-Albani, M.N.-D. (2000) Sahih At-Targheeb wa-Tarheeb by Al-Mundhiri. In Sahih At-Targheeb wa-Tarheeb by Al-Mundhiri, Almaaref Publication Library, Riyadh, 3355.
[12]
Beautrais, A.L. (2000) Risk Factors for Suicide and Attempted Suicide among Young People. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 34, 420-436. https://doi.org/10.1080/j.1440-1614.2000.00691.x
[13]
Ahmed, H., Hossain, M.D., Aftab, A., Soron, T.R., Alam, M.T., Alam, M. and Aftab, U. (2017) Suicide and Depression in the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region: A Systematic Review. WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health, 6, 60-66. https://doi.org/10.4103/2224-3151.206167
[14]
Carletona, T.A. (2017) Crop-Damaging Temperatures Increase Suicide Rates in India. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114, 8746-8751. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1701354114
[15]
Thimmaiah, R., Poreddi, V., Ramu, R., Selvi, S. and Math, S. (2016) Influence of Religion on Attitude towards Suicide. Journal of Religion and Health, 55, 2039-2052. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0213-z
[16]
Norko, M.A., Freeman, D., Phillips, J., Hunter, W., Lewis, R. and Viswanathan, R. (2017) Can Religion Protect Against Suicide? The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 205, 9-14. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000615
[17]
Akbari, A., Haghdoost, A.A., Nakhaee, N., Bahramnejad, A., Baneshi, M.R. and Zolala, F. (2015) Risk and Protective Factor for Suicide Attempt in Iran: A Matched Case-Control Study. Archives of Iranian Medicine, 18, 747-752.
[18]
Lester, D. (2006) Suicide and Islam. Archives of Suicide Research, 10, 77-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811110500318489
[19]
Neeleman, J. and Lewis, G. (1999) Suicide, Religion, and Socioeconomic Conditions. An Ecological Study in 26 Countries, 1990. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 53, 204-210. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.53.4.204
[20]
VanderWeele, T.J., Li, S., Tsai, A.C. and Kawachi, I. (2016) Association between Religious Service Attendance and Lower Suicide Rates among US Women. JAMA Psychiatry, 73, 845-851. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.1243
[21]
Kostenuik, M. and Ratnapalan, M. (2010) Approach to Adolescent Suicide Prevention. Canadian Family Physician, 56, 755-760.
[22]
NIMH (2019) Suicide Prevention. National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention
[23]
Conwell, Y., Duberstein, P.R. and Caine, E.D. (2002) Risk Factors for Suicide in Later Life. Society of Biological Psychiatry, 52, 193-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01347-1
[24]
Harford, T.A., Yi, H.-Y. and Grant, B.F. (2014) Associations between Childhood Abuse and Interpersonal Aggression and Suicide Attempt among U.S. Adults in a National Study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38, 1389-1398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.02.011
[25]
Trout, D.L. (1980) The Role of Social Isolation in Suicide. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 10, 10-23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-278X.1980.tb00693.x
[26]
Bhar, S., Ghahramanlou-Holloway, M., Brown, G. and Beck, A.T. (2008) Self-Esteem and Suicide Ideation in Psychiatric Outpatients. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 38, 511-516. https://doi.org/10.1521/suli.2008.38.5.511
[27]
Sharaf, A.Y., Thompson, E.A. and Walsh, E. (2009) Protective Effects of Self-Esteem and Family Support on Suicide Risk Behaviors among At-Risk Adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 22, 160-168. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6171.2009.00194.x
[28]
Gvion, Y. and Apter, A. (2012) Suicide and Suicidal Behavior. Public Health Reviews, 34, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391677
[29]
Fuller-Thomson, E., Baker, T.M. and Brennenstuhl, S. (2012) Evidence Supporting an Independent Association between Childhood Physical Abuse and Lifetime Suicidal Ideation. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 42, 279-291. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-278X.2012.00089.x
[30]
Ineichen, B. (2008) Suicide and Attempted Suicide among South Asians in England: Who Is at Risk? Mental Health in Family Medicine, 5, 135-138. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2777567
[31]
CDC (2008) Promoting Individual, Family, and Community Connectedness to Prevent Suicidal Behavior. Strategic Direction for the Prevention of Suicidal Behavior. 2-10. https://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/Suicide_Strategic_Direction_Full_Version-a.pdf
[32]
Dervic, K., Oquendo, M.A., Grunebaum, M.F., Ellis, S., Burke, A.K. and Mann, J.J. (2004) Religious Affiliation and Suicide Attempt. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 2303-2308. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.161.12.2303
[33]
Malone, K.M., Oquendo, M.A., Haas, G.L., Ellis, S.P., Li, S. and Mann, J.J. (2000) Protective Factors against Suicidal Acts in Major Depression: Reasons for Living. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1084-1088. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.157.7.1084
[34]
Hirsch, J.K., Duberstein, P.R., Conner, K.R., Heisel, M.J., Beckman, A., Franus, N. and Conwell, Y. (2006) Future Orientation and Suicide Ideation and Attempts in Depressed Adults Ages 50 and Over. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 752-757. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.JGP.0000209219.06017.62
[35]
Niederkrotenthaler, T., Reidenberg, D.J., Till, B. and Gould, M.S. (2014) Increasing Help-Seeking and Referrals for Individuals at Risk for Suicide by Decreasing Stigma: The Role of Mass Media. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47, S235-S243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2014.06.010
[36]
World Health Organization (2012) Public Health Action for the Prevention of Suicide: A Framework.
[37]
Koenig, H.G., Larson, D.B. and Larson, S.S. (2001) Religion and Coping with Serious Medical Illness. Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 35, 352-359. https://doi.org/10.1345/aph.10215
[38]
Koenig, H.G., McCullough, M.E. and Larson, D.B. (2001) Handbook of Religion and Health. Oxford University Press, Oxford. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195118667.001.0001
[39]
Nelson, C.J., Rosenfeld, B., Breitbart, W. and Galietta, M. (2002) Spirituality, Religion, and Depression in the Terminally Ill. Psychosomatics, 43, 213-220. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psy.43.3.213
[40]
Wu, A., Wang, J.-Y. and Jia, C.-X. (2015) Religion and Completed Suicide: A Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE, 10, e0131715. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131715
[41]
Rushing, N.C., Corsentino, E., Hames, J.L. and Sachs-Ericsson, N. (2013) The Relationship of Religious Involvement Indicators and Social Support to Current and Past Suicidality among Depressed Older Adults. Aging & Mental Health, 17, 366-374. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2012.738414
[42]
Al-Albani, M. (1987) The Selected Collections of Authenticated Hadith “Sahih Al-Jami A-Sghir. Al-Shawish, Z., Ed. 3rd Edition, The Islamic Bureau, Beirut.
[43]
Al-Naysaburi, M.I.-H.-Q. (1955) Sahih Muslim. In: Abdul-Baqi, M.F., Ed., Sahih Muslim-Al-Musnad Al-Sahih, Dar Ihiya’a Alkutub Al-Arabiyya, Cairo, 2608.
[44]
Daradkeh, T. (1989) Suicide in Jordan 1980-1985. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 79, 241-244. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1989.tb10252.x
[45]
Sarfraz, A. and Castle, D. (2002) A Muslim Suicide. Australasian Psychiatry, 10, 48-50. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1665.2002.00392.x
Al-Albani, M. (1988) The Selected Collections of Authenticated Hadith “Sahih Al-Jami A-Sghir”. Al-Shawish, Z., Ed. The Islamic Bureau, Beirut.
[48]
Park, C. (2005) Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. The Guilford Press, New York.
[49]
Issa, M.A. (2019) Suicide Motives and Treatment in the Light of the Prophetic Sunnah, 1251-1340.
[50]
Gearing, R.E. and Lizardi, D. (2008) Religion and Suicide. Journal of Religion and Health, 48, 332-341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-008-9181-2
[51]
Shah, A. and Chandia, M. (2010) The Relationship between Suicide and Islam: A Cross-National Study. Journal of Injury and Violence Research, 2, 93-97. https://doi.org/10.5249/jivr.v2i2.60
[52]
Hicks, M.H.-R. and Bhugra, D. (2003) Perceived Causes of Suicide Attempts by U.K. South Asian Women. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 73, 455-462. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.73.4.455
[53]
van Bergen, D.D., van Balkom, A.J., Smit, J.H. and Saharso, S. (2011) “I Felt So Hurt and Lonely”: Suicidal Behavior in South Asian-Surinamese, Turkish, and Moroccan Women in the Netherlands. Transcultural Psychiatry, 49, 69-86. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461511427353
[54]
Chan, L.F., Maniam, T. and Shamsul, A.S. (2011) Suicide Attempts among Depressed Inpatients with Depressive Disorder in a Malaysian Sample. Crisis, 32, 283-287. https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000088
[55]
El-Sayed, A.M., Tracy, M., Scarborough, P. and Galea, S. (2011) Suicide among Arab-Americans. PLoS ONE, 6, e14704. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014704
[56]
Altindag, A., Ozkan, M. and Oto, R. (2005) Suicide in Batman, Southeastern Turkey. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 35, 478-482. https://doi.org/10.1521/suli.2005.35.4.478
