The Islamic Perspective on Suicide: A Study based on Emile Durkheim’s Suicide Theory

Abstract

Although the Suicide was considered as a personal problem before the Industrial Revolution, it is considered as one of the most important social problems faced by the modern world. Emile Durkheim was the pioneer of sociological research on this issue. Islam has provided the most beautiful guidance on this issue. Thus, the study was conducted to analyze Emile Durkheim's suicide theory based on information in Islamic sources and to find Islamic guidelines for avoiding suicide. For this study, which was a review of previous studies, sociological texts, books on the theories of Emile Durkheim, research articles, online articles related to research topic along with basic Islamic sources which are Holy Qur'an and al-Hadith as well as information on suicide found in classical Islamic literature and the writings and studies of modern Muslim scholars have been compiled and analyzed. At the end of the study, it was found that Emile Durkheim's definition of suicide is similar to the definition of Islam and the low suicide rate among followers of Islam, which includes comprehensive legislation and guidelines and restricts individual human freedom, confirms the conclusion of his study which indicates that the motivating factors in suicide attempt such as the religious beliefs, values, and the degree of individual freedom that religion offers may influence on the suicidal ideation of its followers. Moreover, it is observed that the methods of avoiding each type of suicide such as Egoistic Suicide, Altruistic Suicide, Anomic Suicide, and Fatalistic Suicide which are indicated by Emil Durkheim, were extensively mentioned in Islamic sources. Hence, the conclusion of the analysis was that Islam considered suicide as a major crime and provided various guidelines through its sources to successfully combat this social issue. This study will support Studies based on Islamic perspective on suicide.