Darul Uloom Trinidad & Tobago

Assalamu Alaikum,

I contacted you earlier this year regarding my sister who is suicidal . She refuses to go for help, I believe her understanding about Islam is Haram, like shes interpreting everything the wrong way. Kindly shed some light on the following questions please. I just don’t know what to do anymore. Again these questions are from her, that I gathered while speaking to her and I don’t have the amount of knowledge to answer, remember she is in a dark place so her way of thinking is very different.

So what she said was that we were created here on this earth to suffer, Allah swt does not want us to be happy and we must suffer. Is this what Allah swt intended?

Also, she said if she do commit suicide, this is what Allah swt wants? Are we supposed to accept whatever is thrown our way and do nothing, is this what Allah swt wants?

Jazak Allah Khair

Ameen

Wa Alaikum Assalaam,

We are not here on earth to suffer. Allah does not want us to suffer and He did not intend this. Instead, He wants us to enjoy His favours on earth and be grateful to him. The Holy Quran itself sates, ‘Allah wants ease and comfort for you and He does not want hardship for you.’ Allah has created human beings to govern the earth, and He has granted many favours and bounties to them so that they may enjoy their lives while on the earth.

Allah is the giver of live and He alone has the authority to take the life of a person when He chooses. Allah has made it Haram (unlawful) for a person to commit suicide. If a person does this he/she will be severely punished in the fire of Hell.

After giving us life, Allah has shown us the right path and has ordered us to do good things while being obedient to Him, and worship Him.

In this world, many things are connected to ‘cause and effect’, although Allah is the sole Governor of all matters. He has asked us to do good deeds and has promised to reward us for that. At the same time, He has prohibited us from wrong things and sinful deeds, and has stipulated consequences for these. Thus, if a person does good, he will receive good, and if he does bad, he will suffer the consequences. Therefore, many times a man becomes the cause for his own sufferings. Besides this, Allah also sends trials to people to test their Imaan (faith). When these come to people, the true believers remain firm with faith and show patience and forbearance in such states. Those who are not true believers give-up. They become hopeless, and instead of becoming patient and forbearing, they begin to complain and entertain bad thoughts about Allah, and eventually lose faith in Allah.

Whatever comes our way, we should not leave it like that and do nothing. Instead, we should try our best to do something about it. First of all, we must reflect to see if we were the cause for a calamity to befall us, and make dua to Allah to remove such troubles. While doing that, we must put our trust and faith in Allah, believing firmly in our hearts that He is the Governor and controller of all affairs and only He can remove troubles, sufferings and hardships. Along with this, we should continue to beseech Allah to strengthen us in faith (Iman) and good actions, and to make us steadfast as believers.

And Allah Knows Best.

Mufti Waseem Khan.

21/9/16.