On Suicide in Islam

Author(s): Franz Rosenthal

Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1946), pp. 239-
259
Published by: American Oriental Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/595571
Accessed: 26/05/2010 12:22

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aos.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

American Oriental Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of
the American Oriental Society.

http://www.jstor.org
 EDGERTON: Sir WilliamJones: ] 746-]794 239

More valuable is the penetrating sketch in Ernst
Windisch, ' Geschichte der Sanskrit-Philologie und in-
dischen Altertumskunde,' Erster Teil, Strassburg, 1917,
23-26.
G. Birkbeck Hill's edition of Boswell's Johnson ( 6
vols., Oxford, 1887; revised ed. by L. F. Powell, Oxford,
1934-), and his 'Johnsonian Miscellanies' (2 vols.,
Oxford, 1897), contain a number of important references
to Jones; see the indexes to these works, and references
in my notes.
The Boswell papers contain some references to Jones,
kindly made known to me by Professor Frederick A.
Pottle; but they do not add much to what was already
known from G. B. Hill's works.

._.

ON SUICIDE IN ISLAM

FRANZROSENTHAL
HEBREWUNIONCOLLEGE

IN A historical investigation of suicide it is neighbour,or ourselves,"2 and cameto the conclu-

necessaryto distinguishbetweenthe occurrenceof
actual cases of suicide and the theoreticaldiscus-
sion of the problemsconnectedwith it. Casesof
suicide may occur in any place and at any time.
Unfavorablesocial, or psychic, or psycho-physi-
ological conditionshave been consideredas causes
of the phenomenon. Suggestionshave been made
as to how to limit, or eliminate, its occurrence.
It would seem possible that the frequency of
suicide could be curbedby remedyingthe condi-
tions conduciveof it. However,under the pre-
vailing circumstances,such general improvement
appearsnot to be in sight, and, at any rate, the
occurrenceof various cases of suicide is and will
be unavoidable.
Discussions of the problems connected with
suicide, on the other hand, are much less to be
takenfor granted. It is true that thereis evidence
for the presenceof speculationabout the ethical
aspectsof suicideeven among" primitive" human
beings. There are instanceswhich showthat men
at a very low stage of cultural developmentcon-
sidered suicide as a violation of the established
social orderor as an act directedagainst the wel-
fare of the " soul') of an individual.l In general,
it would seem that " primitive" human beings
reflected along approximatelythe same lines as
the author of the most penetratingmodern dis-
cussion of suicide, Dand Hume, who started out
to prove that " if suicide be criminal, it must be
a transgressionof our duty either to God, our
1 Cf. J. Wisse, Selbstmord qbndTodesfqxrchtbei den by the situation prevalentin Graeco-Roman
Naturvolkern 516f. and passim (Zutphen, 1933); S. R.
Steinmetz, Der Selbstmord bei den afrikanischen Natur-
vblkern, in Zeitschrift fibr Socialtvissenschaften 10.362,
374 ( 1907) .
sion (contraryto that of the " primitive" thinkers)
that it was none of those three possibilities.
Yet, it remainsa fact that theoreticalreasoning
about suicide is comparativelyrarely encountered
among " primitive" groups. During certain
periodsit also is very little noticeablein higher
civilization. A possibleexplanationof the attitude
of " primitive" groups may be found in the
assumptionthat they were so stunnedby the un-
natural characterof suicide that they considered
it a catastrophebeyond the sphere of human
reasoning. Such a mentalattitude,however,could
hardly be expectedto have prevailedin the more
highly developedstages of society. Here another
explanationsuggestsitself.
Onlyin the assumptionthat the life of an indi-
vidual is continuedin some form or other after
his death and that he will then be punishedfor
his deed can there be not the slightest doubtthat
suicide in fact is a harmful act. The religions
which thus convincedtheir faithful believers of
the frightful consequencesof suicide succeededin
keeping the rate of its incidencevery low. The
lack of, or the emancipationfrom such religious
guidancehas to be paid for by an increasein the
numberof cases of suicide, but at the same time
a keen interestin the theoreticalaspectsof suicide
comes to the fore. Consequently,it would seem
that the prevalenceof a firm,unshatteredreligious
belief accountsfor the periodicavoidanceof inde-
pendent discussionsof the problemof suicide.
The correctnessof this assumptionis borneout
and,
2 D. Eume, Essay on Suicide, in Essays 2.407 (London,
1875) .
 cide is almost absolutely unknown
. . . s)

240 ROSENTHAL: On Sqzicidein Islanz

especiallyniIl moderntimes. Suicidewas a favorite as the lengthy discussionswhether the Biblical

topic of Hellenistic philosophyand of the period commandment:Lo tirsoh, did or did not include
of enlightenmentiIl the eighteenthcentury,when the prohibition of suicide in the mind of its
Orlglna;or.
. .

the prestige of traditionalreligion was at a low

ebb. The history of suicide in Islam lends itself, There are, however,four passagesin the QqzrZan
rnutatis rnutandis,to similar observations. [2.04(51); 4.29(33); 4.66(69); and 18.6(5)], as
It follows from the precedingremarksthat the well as one in Muhammad'sbiography, which
investigation of suicide in Islam falls into two demandour attention.
parts: 1) The actual (or legendary) cases of The episodefrom the life of the Prophetmight
suicide, or attemptedsuicide, as they have been have been broughtup for discussionin connection
reported in Arabic literature, and 2) the theo- with the treatment of the theological material
retical discussionsof the problemof suicide,both bearing on suicide. However,since it seems to
those reflectingthe officialattitude of Islam and reflect an attitude which may be interpretedas
those which originatedoutsidethe sphereof Mus- being at variancewith the consensusof theological
lim theology. Since the latter aspect is the mclre opinion,it might well representa traditionwhich
importantone, it has here been given precedence might go backto the very earliestyears of Islam.
over the statisticsof actualcaseswhich appearsto It is said that on severaloccasionsduringthe pro-
be of limited significance. longedperioddevoidof revelationswhichfollowed
Muhammad's first experienceof divineinspiration,
the Prophet in desperationascendedthe highest
I. THEORETICAL DISCUSSIONS OF SUICIDE. hill near Meccain the intention to hurl himself
1 THE OFFICIAL RELIGIOUS ATTITFDE. from its top and thus end his life.6 It is strange
(" A religion amongst the followers of which sui- that Muhammad'sintention to commit suicide as
expressedin this story does not appearto have
evokedany commentin Muslim literature.
a) The Qt4r'8n.In vies of the negativeattitude Quran 4.66(69) would also seem to indicate a
of Judaism and Christianitytoward suicide4 it condoningattitude toward suicide, if it is com-
would appear to be a likely assumption that mitted for a worthypurpose;for the passagedeals
Muhammadon his part, too, consideredsuicide with the assumptionthat the Muslimsmight be
unlawful. Under the spell of this assumption commanded" to kill themselves (uqtulZu anflb-
some Western scholars have embarkedupon the sakum)." The commentators,however,are of the
dubiousprocedureof demonstratingMuhammad's opinion that this verse is an exhortationto seek
disapprovalof suicide from several Qur'anicpas- deathin the XEfoly *ATar,
and thus, of course,would
sages which quite generally speak of the pro- not apply to individualsuicide. Or they refer to
hibition to kill or to inflict bodily harm upon Qur'an 2.54 ( SI ) whereMoses,rebukingthe Israel-
somebody.5 Understandablethough these efforts ites who worshipedthe GoldenCalf, tells them to
may be, they will forever remain as inconclusive seek forgivenessfrom their Creatorand to " kill
3 Th. Noldeke, Sketches from Eastern History 72
themselves (fcs-qtulu anfusakum)."
(London-Edinburgh,1892) . This verse was interpretedby a litterateur of
' Cf., for instanee, J. Robeck, Exercitatio philosophica the tenth century as a justificationof suicide.t
de ev)votyx etatyaryX sive morte voluntaria philosophoruZrn
et bonorum virorum etiam Judaeorum et Christianoruqn
Muslim theologians,however,are averse to the
(Rentelii, 1736); J. Eamburger, Reat-Encyctopadiedes assumptionthat God would commandanybodyto
Judentums, Abt. II, 1110-3 (Neustrelitz, 1896); A. commita sin as graveas suicidein orderto atone
Perls, Der Selbstmord nach der Halacha, in MGWJ 55. for some other sin. Therefore,the verse is inter-
287-95 (1911). The problem of suicide in Graeeo-Roman pretednot as referringto suicide,but to a mutual8
eivilization has repeatedly been investigated, ef., for
instanee, Ch. Lecrivain, Le suieide dans l'antiquite killing whichwas to take place either in the form
grecque, in Bem. de l'Acad. des sciences, *nscr. et belles- of a gigantic suicide pact or of a slaughterof the
lettres de Toulouse, XII, 11.195-216 (1933).
6 Cf., espeeially, W. M. Patton's notable artiele on 6 Cf. Th. Noldeke-F. Schwally, Geschichte des Qorans
SUICIDE(MUHAMMADAS9), in Encyclopedia of Religion 1.84 ( Leipzig, 1909 ) .
and Ethtes 12.38 (New York, 1921). 7 Cf. below p. 251. 8 Cf. below p. 241.
 ROSENTXAL: On Suicide in IslGlm 241

worshipersof the GoldenCalf by those Israelites VZa-lataqtulu anf?lsakumwould ordinarilybe

who had had no part in their sin.9 Otherauthori- translated: "and do not kill yourselves." The
ties think of spiritualsuicide,i. e., the suppression use of the reflexive pronoun in a reciprocal
of lustful desires, or of a death through bah', meaningdoes not seem to occur in other Semitic
which appears to signify "grief " or "self- languages. Qur'an commentators,however, are
reproach."10 agreed that this usage is found in a number of
This last interpretation,in turn, is inspiredby and from them the Arabic
passagesin the Qml,r'an,
Qur'an18.6(5), a verse which would seem to lexicographersderived for ncFfsthe meaning of
indicate the possibility that Muhammadmight " brother" or " fellow Muslim."15
torment himself (to death?) with self-reproach
The reciprocal interpretation of nats seems to have
and grief on accountof the disbeliefin his stories its origin in passages in which the plural, anfus, is used
prevailingamonghis contemporaries.The phrase with reference to the collective qualities of the persons
usedin this connection(bahitun-nafsaka) probably addressed,thus assuming the connotation of " people like
was never intended as an indication that Mu- yourselves." Rasulum-nsin anfusikum tQursa7 3.164
hammadmight choosea violentself-inflicteddeath. (158); 9.128(129); cf. also 16.89(91)], according to the
commentaries, signifies a prophet of your own kind, an
Some Western translators, it is true, think of Arab like you. Min anfusikum azwajan tQur'8n 16.72
suicide,1lbut thereis verylittle conclusiveevidence (74); 30.32 (20); and 42.11 (9) ] is interpreted as " pairs
to showthat the Muslimcommentatorssaw in this of your kind." Much more uncertain is an identical
passageanythingelse but an allusionto the possi- interpretation of Qurtan 10.2'3(24); innama bapyukum
'ald anfusikxm; here other authorities advocate the
bility that the Prophetmight die as the result of reflexive meaning of the pronoun.
psychic self-torment. A reciprocal meaning is further assumed in other
Another Quranic passage,however,is of a far cases where anfus would seem to refer to the persons in
greater importancefor our investigationthan the question as both individuals and representatives of
collective characteristics. Qurtan 24.12 ( 12); zanna
three just mentioned. This is Qur'an 4.29(33) l-mutminaunawa-l-mutminatu bi-anfusihim hayran is
whichreads,in R. Bell's translation:12 (; O ye who interpreted, with reference to Qurtan 4.29 ( 33 ), as
have believed, do not consume your property " holding each other in esteem, because all believers can
among you in vanity, except there be trading by be considered one individual." Qur'(^n49.11 (11): la
mutual consenton your part, and do not kill each talmizu anfusakum is considered to signify: " Do not
disparage each other." Qur'8n 2.84 ( 78 ): la tasAkuna
other (wa-lataqtuluanfusakum); 13 verily Allah
dimd'akum wa-la tuhrijuna anfusakum-min diydrikum
hath become with you compassionate. 30 (34) is said to refer to spilling each other's blood and driving
Whoeverdoesthat 14 in enmityand wrongwe shall each other from their respective homes. Opinions are
one day roast in fire; for Allah that is easy." divided regarding Qur'<n 24.61 (61 ): fa-sallimx 'ala
anfusikum; among the various interpretations which
have been proposed we find: " Salute your family (i. e.,
8Cf- Tabarl, Tatsl,r 1.219-21 (Cairo, 1321/1903). The people like yourselves)," and also, again with reference
latter suggestion agrees with the Biblical narrative of to Qurtan4.29 ( 33 ): " Salute each other."
Exodus 32.27f. Such agreement, however, is of little con-
sequence for the interpretation of the Qur'anic passage. As far as the interpretationof 4.29(33) is con-
10Cf. Bayd.awt, Commentarius 1.60 (ed. by H.L(O). cerned, the evidence is inconclusive. From the
Fleischer, Leipzig, 1846-8).
11As, for instance, Du Ryer and Henning, but the grammaticalpoint of view the verse in question
majority adopts what seems to be the more correct may contain a prohibitionof individual suicide,
interpretation. but the possibilityremainsthat anfqlsmight refer
12 Edinburgh, 1937.
to membersof the group. However,the context
l3"Lit. 'do not kill yourselves' (Bell)."
14 It is debatable whether the pronoun dalika refers
is concernedwith mutualdealingsamongMuslims.
to the preceding verse as a whole, or merely to wa-lQ A prohibition of individual suicide, therefore,
taqtulu anfusakum, cf. Tabarl, Tatstr 5.22, and Razs,
Mafatth 3.212 ( Cairo, 1310/1890) . If one accepts the anfusakum, and thus give the impression that dalika
latter interpretation, the arguments derive(l fronl the only refers to that phrase.
context in favor of the translation: " and do nol; kill 15 H. Reckendorf, Die syntaktischen Verhattnisse des
each other," would appear to be solllt?\srhatw ealiened, Arabischen 399 (Leyden, 1898), has a brief reference to
though not invalidated. Qur'an 2.84 (78 ) under Reztproke Verhaltnisse. I do
The general modern works on suinide start their not know of other modern works where this phenomenon
quotation of the Qur'anic passage with uia-la taqtulB might have been treated in greater detail.
 242 RQSENTHAL: 0B Suicide in Isla¢w

would seem strangely out of place here. Those deny the possibilityof a referenceof the passage
Bluslim commentatorsand modern translators16 in questionto suicide on the groundsthat their
who think that the passagerefersto the killing of religious belief enjoins the Iuslims :not to kill
one Muslim by the other mightSconsequently7 be themselves;forvit is statedSthe great pain caused
correct. by suicide and the stigma attached to it clearly
The Muslim attitude toward Qur'an4.29( 33) mark it as forbidden in this world, while the
was profoundlyinfluencedby the fact that the severe punishmentof suicide whlch must be ex-
great Tabarl supportedthe interpretationwhich pected in the other world marks it as forbidderL
refers to a mutual killingvand did not even men- with regardto the life after death. Consequently,
tion the possibility of another rendering.17 Eor the argumentcontinues,if suicide is thus clearly
the reciprocaluse of anfus at-Tabarl offers the markedas forbiddenin both this world and the
other, an expressprohibitiorL of it irLthe QurMr
explanationthat all Xluslims,as membersof one
persuasion(millah), one creed (datwah),and one would be superfluous.
religion (dtn) are like one individual; thus, if It seems, however,that ar-Razl was rLotquite
one Muslim kills the other it is as if he kills satisSedwith this argumentation,for he goes on to
himselfSsince the killer and the killed personcon- show that an expressprohibitionof suicidein the
stituteaunitedfront (cohlyad?rahidcoh) against Quraanmight after all not have been superfluous.
In fact, thoughall commentators respectat-Tabarlns
their rlon-Muslimopponerlts.
Fahr ad-dlnar-Razlmentionssomemorereasons authority,they admit nevertheless that the refer-
why anfusakunsin this passagemay mean "each ence in Qur'an 4.29(33) may as well be to suicide.
other'nls lle quotes a had+^t to the efect that A testimonyin favor of this interpretation,which
;; the believers are like one soul (individual),7 antedatesat.-Tabarland the othercommentariesin
and he furtherrefersto the expression:" We have termsof directtransmission,is availablein a story
told about 'Amr b. al-'As. According to al-
been killed by the Lord of the Eatbah,"used by 19and al-Buharl,20the reportedevent took
Waqidzl
pre-IslamicArabsin the case that one, or some of
them were killed; for they are said to have con- P ace during the expeditionto Dat as-Salasil in
the year 8 E. During a cold night the great
sidered the death of one or some of them as general flid not performthe prescribedablutions
identical with the death of all of them. after a nightly pollution, and he excusedhimself
Accordingto ar-Razl, some commentatorsalso for his omissionwith a quotationfrom the Qur'an
4.29 (33): " And do not kill yourselves; verily
18A few translationsS chosen at random in the avail-
able editions, reveal that a reference tO suicide was
Allah has becomewith you compassionate.'There
assumed by F. E. Boysen (Halle, 1775); G. Savary are differentarersions to the story, which later on
( Amsterdam, 1786 ), S. G. F. Wahl ( Halle lfS28, fol- also found its way into the Qur'ancommentaries;21
lowing Boysen); L. Ullmann (1840, etc.); .J. M. Rodwell it is debatedwhether 'Amr quoted the Qur'anic
(London 1876); Fr. Ruckert-A. Muller ( I4'rankfurt, passageto his companionsduringthe expedition,or
1888); E. H. Palmer-R. A. N;cholson (London, lD00
19z8); M. Henning (Leipzig, 1901, etc.). rather to the Prophet after his return, and also,
Mutual killing is the interpretation adopte(l 1Xy&. du whetherhe made a partial ablution,or rather an
Ryer (London, 1649, English translation from l)u Ryel's ablutionwith sand (fayammum).22 At any rate
original French) i D. Nerreter (Nurnber, 1703) ) A. the wrerse 4.29(33) was at a very early date used
Rasimirski ( Paris, 1840, etc. ) , Mu.hammad'All (Lahore3
1920); M. Pickthall (New York, 1930).
Among the scholars who, in a note or throuh a doul)le 19 Cf. J. Wellhausen, Muhammed tn Medina 316

translation indicate that more than one interpretation ( Berlin, 1882) .

is possible are L. Marracci ( Padova? 1698); G. Sale
(London 17B43; D. F. Megerlin ( Frankfurt a/AI, 17'>2)
J. Le Beaume (Paris, 1878} p. 7a7) i E. M. Wherry
(Boston, 1884); 'Abdallah YAsuf 'Ali (Lahore, 1937)*
R. Bell (Edinburgh, 1937).
17 Tatstr 5.22. Th. P. Hughes, however, was hardly
20SahCh1.77 (Cairo, 1320/1902, Kitab at-tyammum3
bab 7 ) .
2lCf ZamahsarlaRa£saf 1.203 (Cairo, 1307/1889-90)
and Baydawl, Commentarius 1.205f. Cf. also Sarahst
Mabst4t 1.111 (Cairo, 1331/1913).
22 Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bart, ad Buhart Sah*h, loc. cit.

justified in omittin(r any mention of svrah 4.29(33) from gives a good summary of the discussion. Since the
the article on SUICIDE in A Dxotto¢ary of Islam (2Ila printed edition of the Fath was not available I used
ed. London, 1896). a manuscript in the New York Public Library which
18 gafatth 3.212. contains part of the work.
 ROSENTHAL: OnSuicidein Islarn 243

by the science of tradition as evidence for the humiliate and do harm to the soul, thus causing
assumptionthat the prescribedablutionscould be its true death.29
curtailed,or replacedby the tayammurnwhentheir
correctexecutionwouldentail a dangerto life and In conclusionit may be said that there is no
health. It thus appearsto have been interpreted absolutelycertain evidenceto indicate that Mu-
as a prohibitionof suicide. hammad ever discussedthe problemof suicide by
Those scholarswho hold that the passageunder means of a divine revelation,althoughthe possi-
considerationcontains an express prohibitionof bility remains that Qur'an4.29(33) contains a
suicideoften justify its insertionin the Quran by prohibitionof suicide. It is, however,certainthat
assertingthat it is intendedas a xvarningagainst from the early days of Islam on this and some
the habit of the " Indian fools " to commitsuicide other passagesof the Qur'anwere consideredby
by hah',23a habit whichit wouldnot be properfor many Muslimsas relevantto the sublject.
Muslimsto imitate.24 b) The I.]:adtt. While the Qur'anic attitude
Or it is suggestedthat many a believermight toward suicide thus remainsuncertain,the great
wish to end his own life becausehe is afraid that authoritiesof the hadSttleave no doubt as to the
as a punishmentfor the sins he committedgreat officialreligiousattitudeof Islam. In their opinion
pains might be his lot when he will be called suicide is an unlawful act. Thus, at the latest
before his Makeron the Last Day; therefore,in in the eighth century but most probablymuch
orderto preventsuch senselessacts of desperation, earlier than that,30Islam as a religion had come
it was considered advisable to warn expressly to condemnsuicide as a grave sin.
against the commissionof suicide in the Quran.25 The great hadtt collections contain special
Further examplesof interpretationalingenuity chapterson suicide,but also refer to it in various
lead awayfrom the simpleinterpretationof Qurvan other places.3l There are altogetherseven tradi-
4.29(33). Thus the verse is explainedas a nega- tions concernedwith suicide. They have been
tion of the injunctionto kill themselveswhichhad handeddownwith occasionalslight divergencesin
been imposedupon the worshipersof the Golden the chain of transmitters, or, more frequently,
Calf [Quran 2.54(5I)]; 26 it is stated that Allah
with certain divergencesin the text of the tradi-
does not expect anything so difficult from the tion. Nearly all those seven traditionshave been
Muslims, as is shown by the fact that the text acceptedby al-Buharl and Ibn Hanbal, each of
goes on to say: "Verily Allah has becomewith whomonly omits one.
you compassionate." 27
This is a brief summaryof their contents:
It is further arguedthat the passageunder dis-
A. This hadtt appearsas a statementascribed
cussionaims at the commissionof crimesand sins
to God Himself (hadtt quds>). It is mentioned
which would deserve death.28 And philosophy by al-Buharl32 who gives two versionsof the story.
comes into its own by an interpretationof the Accordingto one versionthe Prophetwas present
verse as a prohibitionof any action that might when a woundedman killed himself. Whereupon

2S Cf. above p. 241. Bab^',in this connection, seems to
signify abstention? The case of Mubariz ad-dln Sunqur
of Mardln who, while in exile in Damascus, became
desponding on account of his unfortunate situation and
did not take any food except water until he died from
exhaustion ( Sibt Ibn al-Jawzl, Mir'4t az-zaman 412,
ed. by J. R. Jewett, Chicago, 1907, anno 619/1222), is a
good example of the kind of " suicide " which the Muslim
commentators here have in mind.
For the knowledge of Indian suicide in Arabic litera-
ture, cf. below n. 86.
24 Cf. Razi, Zamahsarl, and Baydawt, loc. ctt.
2S Cf. Razl, loc. ctt.
26 Cf. above, p. 240.
27 Cf. Razl, Zamahsarl, and BaydawS, loc. ctt.
a8 Cf. RazZand BaydawS, loc. ctt.
29 Cf. Baydawi, loc. cit.
30 No decision is possible as to whether the substance
of the traditions in question goes back to Muhammad
and his time or not.
31A. J. Wensinck's masterly SIandbook of JEJarlySIqb-
hammadan Tradqvtqvon 222, s. v. SUICII)E(Leyden, 1927),
greatly facilitates the location of all the relevant pas-
sages and presents an excellent summary of the tradi-
tional Muslim attitude toward suicide. I have had no
access to the collections of Ibn Majah and ad-DarimS,
but I feel fairly certain that they do not contain any
additional traditions. It would also seem that no
additional material could be found in the secondary
works on traditions which contain references to suicide.
32 Sahth 1.343 and 2.373 (ed. by L. Krehl, Leydent,
1862-1908). Cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Ma'arivf 80 (Wustenfeld).
 -- S

244 wSOSENTHAL: Ob b'utctd e tn 1 slam

GLodsaid: My servant anticipatedmy action by ferring to suicide by poison, a steel instrument,

taking his soul (life) in his own hand; therefore, or precipitation from a high place, and its
he will not be admitteclinto Paradise. subsequentpunishmentin B:ell by the enforced
The otherversionadds that in his shockedcon- repetitionof the identical action. Some versions
dition that man severed his hand with a knife add that such punishmentwill take place ';per-
and died from loss of blood. This additionwould manently,unendingly,always." Since, in contrast
seem to imply that an action causing one's own to the Muttazilahand the Hawarij, the orthodo2
death, even if such result was not intendedor its Muslimsdo not admit the possibilityof an eternal
possibility realized, was considered unlawful. sojourn in Hell,47the addition of these words is
However, another tradition (F) precludessuch rejected by them as a Muttazilahfalsificationof
an assumption,and Ibn Hajar, al-Buhari'scom- the original tradition.48
mentator,does not considerit.33
E. The historical setting of this tradition is
B. The second hadtt is found in al-Buharl34 not entirely the same in all versions. Two main
and Ibn Hanbal.35It containsthe followingstate- versionscan be distingllished,one of whichappears
ment of the Prophet: Whoeverstrangleshimself twice in al-Buharl,49and the other once in al-
will repeathis deed in the Fire, and whoeverkills Buhari 50 and three times in Ibn I*Ianbal.5lMus-
himself by stabbing his own body with sotne lim 52 has two versions. The story,in brief,reports
weapon will repeat his deed in the Fire. Ibn that a man who fought most valiantly on the side
Hanbal further mentionssuicide by precipitating of the Muslims was seriously wounded,and, in
oneself from a high place. order to shorten his suSerings, he fell upon his
C. This ha.d1,t appearsin al-Buharl38 and Mus- own sword and thus ended his life. Since the
lim three times.37 Ihn Hanbal38quotes it with Prophet had predicted that this man would be
seven, and an-NasaG39 with three differentriwa- doomedin spite of the valor he displayedfor thse
yahs. It is further mentioned by at-Tayalisl.40 Muslimcause,his suicide was taken as an indica-
It refersto certaincrimes,amongwhich swearing tion that the Prophethad not been mistaken.
by a religionotherthan Islam is alwaysmentioned. It is the purposeof this traditionto show that
Then the following statement of the Prophet is only the final outcome of a man's actions can
reported: Whoever kills himself (with a steel decidewhetherhe will be savedor doomed. With
instrument,or somethingelse) will be punished regard to the problemof suicide the tradition is
in the same manner in the fire of Hell (or: on interestinginasmuchas it impliesthat no previous
the Day of Resurrection,in the other world). meritoriousaction can prevent the consequences
D. In addition to al-Buhari's version,41this of suicide.
hadtt has been handeddownby Ibn Hanbal42 il]. F. The aecidentaldeath by his own weaponof
four, and by at-Tirmidi43 in five versions. It is the poet 'Amir b. Sinan b. al-Akwa'in the battle
also quoted by Muslim,44an-Nasaf45 and at- of Haybar (anno 7 H.) is, accordingto this hadtt}
Tayalisi.46 It is nearly identical with (B), re- not to be considereda suicide, although some
peoplehad fearedthat this accidentwould appear
33Cf. Ibn Hajar} Fath al-B&r ad Buhari (see above
n. 22). to he a suicide and thus depriveIbn al-Akwatof
S4Sah,h 1.343 (Krehl)- the heavenlyrewardhe deservedfor his martyr-
S6 SIusnad 2.435 (Cairo, 1313/1895-6).
S6Sahth 1.343 4.124 and 4.264 (Krehl). 47 Cf. for instance, Astart, Maq&lat al-Isldmtytn 474,
37 Sahth 1.455-7 ( in the margin of Qastallanl, Irsad ed. by H. Ritter, in Bibliotheca Islamica 1 ( Stambul-
as-sar? 6th ed., Bulaq 1304-5/1886-8) . Berlin, 1929-30).
88 Alusxad 4.33f. 48 Cf. also Ibn IIajar's commentary to Bubaris chapter
S9Sunan 2.139f . ( Cairo 1312/1894-5) . * *.
on sulelue.
40 A[usnad 166 (Hyderabad, 1321/1903) . We would be inclined to assume that the contested
41 $aht,h 4.71 ( Krehl ) -
words originally belonged to the tradition and antedated
42 Vusnad 2 254 2.478, and 2..488f. these theological speculations.
43$ahth 2.3f. (Bulaq 1292/1875). 49 Sahth 2.223f. and 4.253f. ( Krehl ) .
44 $ahth 1.454 (in the margin of Qastallanl). 50 Sahth 4.253f. ( Krehl ) s
46 Sunan 1.279. 61 g?,zsnad, 2.309f. and 4.135.

R Musnad 317. 62Sahth 1.458-61 (in the margin of Qastalldn).

 ROSENTHAL: On Sutcidein Islam
dom. al-Buharl53gives a short version of this
story, while three detailednarrativesare found in
Ibn Hanbal,54and two in Muslim.55 The his-
torians also make mention of the event.56
G. According to a tradition reportedby Ibn
Hanbal,57ZIuslim,58Abu Dawtid,59an-Nasaf,60
at-Tirmidl,6l and at.-Tayalisl,62Muhammadre-
fused to say prayersover the body of a man who
had killed himself.63
However,the questionwhetherit is permitted
to say prayers for a suicide or not is widely
debated.At-Tirmidladdsthat somehadttscholars
were of the opinionthat every Muslim is entitled
to prayersafter his death,evenif he died a suicide;
he further states that, in the opinion of another
muhadditJsome other person and not the Imam,
the replar prayerleader,shouldsay the customary
prayers.
As-Sarahsl(d.483/1090) also mentionsthe diS-
erence of opinion prevailing among theologians
with regard to this point.64 Ibn Hajar, com-
mentingupon al-Buharl'schapteron suicide,notes
that al-Buharlmade no referenceto the tradition
which forbids funeral rites for suicides; he adds
however,a statementof Malik to the effect that
the repentance(tawbah)of a suicidewould not be
accepted.64aTherefore,no prayersshould be said
for a suicide. Yet, the performanceof the pre-
scribeddeath rites in the case of a suicide is said
to be the commonpracticein Muslimcountriesin
modern times.65
63 $ahth 4.320 (Krehl ) .
64Musnad 4.46ff. and 4.51ff. Cf. also Muhammad b.
'Ali as-Sarahst, Sarh as-sfyar al-kabir 1.72ff. (Hyderabad,
1335/1916-7) .
ti6 Sahf h 7.450-6 ( in the margin of Qastallant) .
s6Cf. the sources enumerated by L. Caetani, Annals
dell'Islam II, 1.24 and 45 (Milan, 1907).
67 Musnad 5.87.
68Sahth 4.315f. (in the margin of Qastallani).
69 S¢nan 2.83 ( Lucknow, 1312/1895, Kitab al -jano'iz ) . twatsih ( " suicide " ) . In the opinion of Ibn Rasid, it
6° Sunan 1.279.
61$ahth 1.198.
S2 Musnad 106. [Ibn Majah, Sunan 1.239, Cairo 1313.3
63 Cf. also M. d'Ohsson, Tableatb general de l'Empire
Othoman 2.324 ( Paris, 1788) .
64 Sarh as-siyar al-kab1,r 1.72ff. Cf. also Nawawl's
commentary on Muslim, Saht,h (above n. 58); Nawawl
Minhaj at-talibtn 1.225 (ed. by L. W. C. van den Berg
Batavia, 1882-4); Ibrahlm b. Muhammad al-Halabt I was not able to check.
Bultaqa al-abhur (Kttab a,s-saZah,. bab as-sahtd ) .
64a Cf., however, SahnAn, al-Mudawwanah al-kubrQ
1.I 77 ( Cairo, 1323/1905-6).
66 Cf. Th. P. Hughes, A Dictionary of Islam 622, s. wr. the same principle is mentioned.
245
A question of minor lmportaneeis not men-
tioned in these seven canonical traditions, but
seemsto have occasionallybeen discussed,namely,
whichcrimeis the greaterone,homicideor suicide.
Ibu Rasld, as quoted by Ibn Hajar,66evidentlv
consideredhomicidethe graver sin; for he states
that since a person who committedsuicide and
wrongedonly himself is doomed,the moreso does
a murdererwho wrongedsomeoneelse deservethe
same fate. However,a fatunsi of the early eigh-
teenth century judges suicide more severelythan
homicide.67
No life-longblemishis attachedto a personwho
once unsuccessfullyattemptedto commit suicide.
This is illustratedby the story of a girl who had
becomea Muslimahin the early years of Islam
and, having committedsomesin, tried to take her
own life. Whenlater on peoplewantedto marry
her, her father ( ?) went to 'Umarand askedhim
whetherhe shouldtell her suitors abouther past.
On this occasion,'Umarmost emphaticallyforbade
him to reveal to anyonewhat God had concealed
(by not letting her suicide succeed).68
. ze sum and substanceof the theologicalatti-
tude toward suicide as expressedin the relevant
traditionscan be stated as follows: Suicide is an
unlawful act. The person who commits suicide
will be doomed and must continually repeat in
Hell the action by which he killed himself.69 It
is debatedwhetherprayersare said for a suicide
or not. If a personkills himself accidentally,it is
not consideredsuicide.
SUICIDE(2nd. ed., London, 1896). But cf. also J. Wisse
Selbstmord und Todesfurcht 332, for the statement that
the Muslims of the Freneh Sudan do not accord funeral
rites to a suicide. See also below p. 253.
66Fath al-B&r ad Buhari's chapter on suicide. Ibn
RaCid'sremark was occasioned by the observation that
the heading given by al-BuharSto the chapter in question
reads qazil an-nats ( " manslayer " ), instead of qatil
was al-Bubaris intention thus to evoke in the mind of
the reader an association of suicide with homicide.
67 Cf. M. d'0hsson, Tableau general 4,2.525 ( Paris
1791). DC>hsson,in turn, was quoted by E. Lisle, Db
suicide 344 n. 1 (Paris, 1856). Cf. also L. \Vestermarok
The oripin and de?velopmentof the moral ideas 2.247 n. a
( London, 1908) .
68 Cf. Mustafa Jawad (below n. 10a), +rhose source
69M. Asin Palacios, La escatolopia musulmana en la
Divina Contedia 122 n. 1 (Madrid, 1919. 2nd ed. 1943
p. 149), refers to a number of theological works where
246
ROSENTHAL: OnSutcidein Islan

By far the most interestingaspectof the Muslim allusion to suicide must be taken metaphorically:
theologicalattitude towardsuicide is the applica- "Ee almost hanged himself, even as people say:
tion to suicides of the Zextazonis in the other So-and-sokills himself out of rage, i. e., he almost
world. The conceptof Hell and life after death kills himself."73 Such moralizingis ultimately
has in many religionsbeen stronglyinfluencedby inspiredby theologicalconsiderations,but the fact
the principle of retaliation. Certain aspects of remainsthat popularfeeling did not excludesui-
the legends of Tantalus and Tityus representthis cide as a possiblereactionto personalmisfortune.
principle in Greekmythology. The Hindus es- The above-mentioned author, however,is quite
pected evil-doersto be requitedfor their deedsin right in maintainingthat the expression:to kill
Hell with the same tortures they inflicted upon oneself,is occasionallyusedin a figurativemanner.
others,70and Christianitymaintainsthat the limb In orderto emphasizethe great speedwith which
which sinned should be punished after death.70a a messengeron horsebackbroughthomethe news,
However,the extensionof the principleof retalia- it is permissibleto say that the messenger" killed
tion to suicides is peculiar,and the exact source himself."T4 In poetry, despairinglovers75 and
from which Muslim theology derived it remains ungratefulcourtiers76 speak about suicide as the
to be determined.70b only solution for the unfortunate situation in
whichthey find themselves.76a As a rule they have
2. NON-THEOLOGICAL OPINIONS. in mind a slow death from grief and self-reproach,
and msita" to die " might havebeenused by them
( " . . . a mali non naturali, rimedio non naturale.") 71
rather than qatala nafssLhu" to commit suicide."
Proverbialor figurativeuse of an expressionfre- The ArabianNightsnwhichmay,however,repre-
quently is indicative of the fact that the idea sent the usage of a very recent period, use the
expressedhas becomethe commonpropertyof a phrase: "Don't kill yourself," approximatelyin
people. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that
such usage in connection with suicide is very ( Cairo, 1310/1892-3, in the margin of WIaydanl), and
in G. W Freytag, Arabum Proverbia 1.618
restricted in Islam. There are, however,a few Maydani, (Bonn, 1838-9).
instancesof it. 73 Cf. 'Askari, IOG.cit. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyah, how-
Some collectionsof proverbscontainthe expres- ever, seriously considers the possibility that wrath and
sion: suriqa as-s2riq farntahara:" When things anger might lead to suicide (Igatat al-laEtan 12, Cairoy
.
were stolen from a thief he went and hanged 1322/1904) 74 Cf. Miskawayh, Tajarib, anno 321/933, in H. F.
himself."72 One author hastens to add that the Amedroz D. S. MargoliouthSThe Eclipse of the 'Abbasrd
Caliphate 1.262f., transl. 4.298 (Oxford, 1920-1).
70 Cf. Encyclopedia of Religion and hJthiGS 11.844b 76 Cf. Ibn DawAd, Zahrah 139 (al-Buhturi; but the
(New York, 1921) . verse is not contained in the edition of his Dwan, Con-
70a Cf. further, the Eandworterbuch des Deutschen stantinople, 1300/1882-3) and 349 (ed. by A. R. Nykl
A berglaubens 4.213ff., s. s. HoLLe ( Berlin-Leipzig, and I. TAqan,Chicago, 1932. The Or. Inst. of the Univ.
1931-2) . Of Chicago, Studies in Ancient Or. Civilization 6).-Cf.
70b Muslim criminal law relies to a considerable ex- also the verse quoted in the Arabian NtpEts 1.284
tent upon the principle of retaliation, but its influence (Cairo, 1302/1885, story of Eing 'Umar an-Nutman and
upon the concept of the punishment of suicide is his two sons):
uncertain. Wa-aqtulu natss ft hawaka mahabbatan.
Fiqh, in general, is little concerned with suicide. 78Cf. Ibsfhi, Mustatraf 1.229 (BAlaq 1268/1851-2').
Legal compendia discuss the question of prayers for 78a In pre-'Abbasid poetry, the idea of suicide occurs
suicides ( above n. B4) . They further specify that no in a poem by al-Elansa' who says that in her grief she
kaffarah and d+yahare needed for a suicide (Maliki rite, would kill herself, if she did not see that others had
cf. galil b. Ishaq, MuStosar 2.691, Italian translation suffered similar losses (rhyme stn).
by I. Guidi-D. Santillana, BIilan, 1919). According to Later substitution of the idea of suicide occurs in a
the Safi'ite, an-Nawawi, no qtSaSis needed, while the poem ascribed to the legendary representative of nadd-
question of kaffarah and diyah is doubtful (Minhaj at- mah, al-Kusati. Al-Kusa'i was so disturbed by what he
talibtn 3.112; 186, v. d. Berg) . Cf. also G. Bergstrasser- had done that he said that, if he had the courage, he
J. Schacht, Grurzdztcgedes islamtschen Rechts 104 would cut off his fingers (Ta'alibi, Tsmar 104f., Cairo
( Berlin-Leipzig, 1935. Lehrbucherd. Sem. f . or. Sprachen 1326/1908; Ltsan aZ-'Arab 10.18f., s. v. ks', BAlaq
35) . 1300-7/1883-90). According to Azdi, Bad6'i' al-bad8'th
71 G. Leopardi, Dialopo dr Plotino e di Porfirio. 1.20 (Cairo, 131B/1898), al-Kusati in this connection
72 Cf. AbR Hilal al-'Askari, Jantharat al-anttal 1.332 speaks of suicide.
 ROSENTXAL: On Sqbicidein Islarn
the meaningof " Do'nt get excited;" thus, at least,
it is used by the wife of the waztr who thought
that her husbandwas bewailingmerelythe mone-
tary loss when his son had an afEairwith the ex-
pensive slave-girl Anls al-Jalls whom the waztr
had boughtfor the Sultan.77 The ArabtanNtghts
are also ratherloose in their use of suicidethreats
(of the type of suicide as revenge). The wicked
girl who desiresthe executionof the king'ssontries
to reachher goal by repeatedthreatsof suicideSso
that her sin would cling to the king, who had
clrivenher to that act of desperation,until the
Day of Resurrection.78The waztrwho is unable
to make his master tell him the reason for his
sadnessthreatensto kill himselfbeforehis master's
eyes.79 If a lover who is supposedto be of lowly
origin persecutesthe daughterof the king with his
attentions,she is inclined to think that he might
be a suicide candidate.80 Lovers frequently
threaten to commit suicide.51
All these passages indicate that the idea of
suicide was not entirely absent from the Muslim
mind. A furtherindicationin the same direction
may be found in the fact that for nafs meaning
" the whole,or tlle essenceof a thing,"the lexicog-
raphershad no better evidence than the phrase
qatala nafsahu "to commit suicide."82
However,the considerableinterest in the prob-
lem of suicide which becomes notlceablein the
latter part of the third/ninth century and lasts
well into the fifth/eleventh century could hardly
be explainedas the result of an internal Muslim
development. The evidenceat our disposalpoints
to the fact that the increasedspeculationabout
the problemin that period was provokedby the
impact of ancient philosophyupon Islam and a
correspondinggeneral weakeningof the religious
influence.
T7 Arabian Nights 1.107 (Cairo, 1302/1885, story of
the two waztrs, and Anfs al-Jalis).
78 Op. cit. 3.60ff. (stories about the artfulness of
women) .
T90p. cit. 3.250 (story of Sayf al-MulAk and Baditat
al-Jamal ) . The characters involved are described as
non-Xluslims.
800p. cit. 3.206 (story of 13ayAtan-NufAs).
810p. cit. 2.303 tstoriy of Hasib Karlm ad-din). Cf.
also 3.202, where the man-hatiIlg Hayat an-NufAs
threatens to kill herself if her father should constrain
her to marrJrone of her manJrsuitors.
82 Cf., for instance, Laisan al-'Arab 8.119, s. v. qLats
( Bulaq, 1300-7/1883-90) .
247
It is true that the political insecurlty which
prevailedin the Muslim world from the fourth/
tenth centuryon broughtin its train an increasein
the number of suicides. A characteristicstory
illustratingthis state of affairsis that of the tax-
collector Abu l-'Abbasb. Sabur who perished at
the hands of his torturersin 375/985-6. Shortly
before his death he sent an anonymousletter to
the jurisconsultAbu Bakr al-Hu+srarizml, askillg
him whether a person who suffered intolerable
tortureswas permittedto commit suicide. As it
could be expectedSal-Huwarizmlreplied in the
negative and recommendedpatience,which would
be amply rewardedwith forgivenessof sins in the
otherworld. But whenal-Huwarizmllearnedwho
it was that had put the questionto him, he re-
markedthat it did not makeany diflerencewhether
Ibn Sabur killed himself or not, because a man
like him would anyhow be doomed.83 Yet, the
darknessof the political situation alonenthough
it accountsfor some cases of suicide, would not
have been sufficientto overcomethe customary
reluctance of the Muslims to discuss the theo-
retical aspects of the phenomenon.
Greek discussions about suicide reached the
Arabs in various ways. For instance, a medico-
philosophical definition of love ascribed to an
ancient Greek authority takes into account the
possibilityof a lover's suicide in the heat of his
passion.84
The Pseudo-AristotelianBook of the Apple
suggeststhat death self-chosenis not detrimental
to true philosophers,but a feeling of duty, like
that possessedby a guardian at a frontier pass,
preventsphilosophersfrom committingsuicideand
thus deprivingtheir bodiesfrom the protectionof
the soul against the lusts and passions of this
world.85
Another attitude is suggestedby a story about
the " Indian philosophers" which may ultimately
go back to Helienistic traditions rather than to
83 Cf. AbA Suja', Zistory, anno 375/985-6, in Amedroz-
Margoliouth, Eclipse 3.118, traxlsl. 6.120.
84 Cf. Ibn Dawiid, Zahrah 17. Further references in
Islanic Cqzltqzre 14.420 n. 6 and 7 (1940)* 15.398
(1941). Hunayn is our oldest source for this definition
of love. Cf. also Mugully, Martyrs of Love 1.26f. (ed.
by O. Spies, Stuttart, 1936. Bonner Or. Studien 18).
86 Cf. D. S. Margoliouth, The Book of the Appte,
ascribed to Aristotle, in JRAS 1892.234. The relevant
Platollic passages are quoted by Blrllnl, India 2.171
(transl. by E. Sachau, London, 1888).
248 ROSEN1EAL:
genuine Indian sources Some of those Indians,
it is stated, "when they felt that their lives were
polluted threw themselvesinto a fire, in orderto
purify their souls, to clean their bodiesSand to
free their spirits."86
al-Farabl'sexpositionof Plato's philosophyalso
touchedthe problemof suicide. Accordingto al-
Farabl'swork,PlatonsApology andPhaedo contain
an affirmativeanswerto the questionwhetherdeath
is preferableto a life beneathhuman dignity or
not.87 Although Socrates'death undoubtedlywas
no suicide,it has servedas a justificationof suicide
in some IIellenisticphilosophicalschools. And it
is easy to realize that the descriptionof Socrates
death which was well-knownto the Arabs; or the
many sayings ascribedto Socrates which stated
that death is preferableto life; or a passagelike
that containedin al-Farablmust have stimulated
the discussionof the problemof suicide for which
86 Cf. Cahrastani, Milal 456
(ed. by W. Cureton,
London 1842-6. Transl. by A. Haarbrueker, Halle, of its basenessand deficiency,is like non-existence.
1850-1, 2.373).
BlrAnt reports the Indian eustom of the self-saerifiee account of its excellence and periection, is like
of widows and other types of suieide found in India, existence. In
espeeially in eonneetion with the veneration of the river
Ganges (India 2.155, 164, 170-1, and 191. Cf. also
Ibsihl, Mustatraf 2.167) .-In this eonnection, ef. also even though he is non-existent, and life, even
the story of EaySt an-NufAs, in the Arabian CipSts
3.218 (Cairo, 1302/1885), whieh eontains as examples of
matrimonial love t+ro stories, one eoneerning a man,
and the other a woman, who both had themselves buried
alive after the death of their respective spouses.
\Ve also have some historieal reports in Muslim litera-
ture about eases of suieide among Indians. Thus, the
Indian prinee Jaypal was released by MahmAd of
Gasnah, who wanted to exploit the psyehologieal effeet
whieh JaypAl's re-appearanee in his humiliated state
would have had upon his Indian subjeets. JaypAl, how-
ever, threw himself into the fire and ras burned to
death, cf. Ibn al-Atir? Kamil, anno 392/1001-2; Ibn
Katir, Btdayah 10.330 (Cairo, 1531ff./1932ff.); Mu-
hammad NAzim, The L+fe and Times of Sultan Mahrnud
of Shaznsx, 88 (Cambridge, 1931).
Another Indian prince, Bajl RAy of BhAtiyah (Bha-
tinda?), preferred death by his own hand to eaptivity
after his defeat by BIahmAd,presumably in 395tlO04,
ef. Nazim, op. cit. 101.
In 602/1205-6, the Bant Kawkar who lived in the
mountains between Lahore and BIultan in the Panjab,
were defeated and pursued by the soldiers of the Gorid
Muhammad b. Sam of Gaznah. They built a big fire,
exhorted each other to prefer suicide to death at the
hands of the Muslims, and jumped into the fire, ef.
Ibn es-Satl al- Jamt' al-Blubtasar 169f.; Ibn al-Atir,
Kamtl, anno 602.
87 Alfarabius, De Platonis
pStlosophio § 24 ( ed by F.
Rosenthal-R.Walzer, London, 1943. Plato Arabus 2).
OnSqctde tn Islans
Islam gave an answer which apparentlydiffered
from that of Plato and Socrates.
The great writer of the fourth/tenth century,
Abu Hayyan at-Tawhldl, includes among his
MqxqabGlsdt one which in its first part appearsto
be reminiscentof al-Farabl'sdescriptionof the life
beneath human dignity where man is like an
animal and whereit makesno differencewhether
his shape is that of a human being or that of a
fish. Remarkablyenough, this first part of the
muqabasahis followedby a lengthy discussionof
suicide.87aThis discussiondeservesto be trans]ated
here, since it appearsto be the only such detailed
treatmentof the subjectwhichhas been preserved
in the availableArabic literature.88
The first part of the muqabasahdeals with an
(alleged) talk by an-Nusajanl on the different
kinds of existence. This is a brief resumeof this
part:
There is a kind of existencewhich, on account
And there is a kind of non-existencewhich, on
the possessionof such excellence
and perfection an individualattainsreal existence
thoughhe is dead,and divine bliss and happiness.
People are dominatedby bodily desires which
lead them to destruction. If they would subdue
87a A coincidence, which is so strange that it deserves
tv be mentioned, is the occurrence of the same two
topics, i. e., bestial passions and suicide, in a discussion
which took place between Samuel Johnson and his friends
on April 21, 1773 (cf. J. Boswelle The Life of Samuel
Johnson ) .
88Xxqabasdt 215-21 (ed. by Easan as-SandAbt,Cairo,
1347/1928-9). For another case of suicide reported by
Tawhidl, cf. below n. 148.-Tawh. idi also appears to
know an alleged case of animal suicide (if it actually is
a case of suicide): A stallion, noticing that his owner
had mated him with his own mother, hurls himself into
some wads and thus perishes (Imta' 2.31, Cairo, 1942).
According to G. Le Strange's translation of The Geo-
graphtcal Part of the NuzEat-al-Qulub 2.275, by Ham-
dallah Mustawfi ( E. J. W. Gibb Memortol Series 23, 1-2
Leyden-London, 1915-9), a dog arhose master died in
Qaswin in 740/1340, '; began to beat himself against the
ground so that he killed himself." The Persian text
might, however, merely imply that the do did not leave
the spot until he died
Mugultay, SIartyrs of Love 1.100 (Spies) tells about
the suicide of a female duck zrhose mate had been
slaughtered. Mugultay also reports the Sufic parable of
the suicide of a little bird during a discussion of love
(op.cit. 1.176).
 ROSENTHAL: On Suicide in Islam 249

their passionsand aspire to goodness,they would acted like a man ! What a splendid thing he did of
achieve spiritual and intellectual perfection and his own free will ! His action indicates magnanimitJr
and a great staunchness of mind. He freed himself from
be eternallyhappy. But man is inclinedto follow a long drawn-out misery and from circumstances which
his natural volition rather than the intellect. were unbearable, on account of which nobodJrwanted to
Therefore,perfectionis rarelyencounteredamong have anything to do with him, and which brought him
mennand it is very exceptionalto find in human great privations and a steady reduction of his means.
Everybody to whom he addressed himself turned away
beings such qualities as charity (at-thsan), kind- from him. Whenever he knocked at a door, it was closed
ness (at-jamtl), justice (al-'adl) and moderation before him. Every friend whom he aslvedfor something
(al- igah 89) . excused himself.
The correctnessof this statementis illustrated B'hile that person thus defended the action of the
by a personalexperienceof the narrator. He tells suicide, someone else replied: If that Sayh escaped from
the dreadful situation which you have just described,
us that, in a wadt coveredwith an abundanceof without getting himself into another situation which
fresh green grass, he and his friends met a man might be considerably more frightful and of a much
who loudly proclaimedhis desire to be a cow so longer duration than that which he had been in, it would
that he might havehis fill of that luxuriousgrass; indeed be correct to say that he did a splendid thing.
he even imitated the chewing of a cow. When What a noble fellow, one might then say he was con-
sidering the fact that he found strength and the means
remindedof the basenessof his desire he main- to commit such a deed! One would have to admit that
tained that this desire was well justified under every intelligent person should feel compelled to do the
the circuinstances,and thus revealed his total same thing, to imitate him and to arrive at the same
depravity. Is there any differencebetweensuch a decision of his own free will.
However, if he had learned from the religious law --
man and a donkey,a brayinganimal? no matter whether the ancient or the new one 90 that
There is, at-Tawhidi continues,the possibility such and similar actions are forbidden, it would be
of Sufic influence. lIe reportsthe story of a Suf necessary to say that he did something for which Godhas
who expressedthe wish to be a donkey,meaning ordained quick punishment and disgrace in the painful
fire of Hell. My God! Ee could surely have learned
that he would like to be relievedof the responsi- from any intelligent and judicious, learned and educated
bilities which rest upon man during his stay in person, from anybody who has some intelligence and
this world and in the next world. Yet, it must knows the elements of ethics-let alone him who knows
be admitted, at-Tawhidi states, that the Sufl's what to say and to do and to choose always the best
desire to be a donkey is a sign of his ignorance procedure of and occasion for doing things 91
such actions are forbidden and that even the commission
that
of the real human values. of much lesser deeds is prohibited. Why did he not
Here ends the first part of the rn?bqabcrsah. A suspect himself and scrutinize his motives and consult
short introduetoryparagraphleads over to the someone who might have given him good adxice! And
discussionof suicide. This paragraphstressesthe such all this happened on account of a situation which was
that if he had extricated himself from it, he would
fact that the following secondpart of the rrbuqd- thereafter have encountered92 many things so much
bcFsah is compleinentaryto the first and that the worse that they would have made him forget his former
readershould pay careful attentionto it, since he hardships.
will find revealed in it the real purpose and He ought to have known that it is necessary to avoid
any connection with such an action, which is detested
meaning of human life. Then, at-Taw}.lldlgoes by the intellect, considered sinful by tradition and
on to say: shunned with horror by nature; for the generally known
Recently we saw what happened to a learned Sayh. injunctions of the religious laws and the consensus of all
This Sayh had come to live in very reduced circum- in each generation and region show that suicide is for-
stances. Therefore, people began to avoid him more and bidden and that nothing should be done which might
more, and his acquaintances no longer wanted to have lead to it. The reason for the prohibition of suicide is
anythint, to do with him. This went on for a while llntil
90 I. e., the laws of the ancient philosophers and of the
one day he entered his home, tied a rope to the roof of
his room, and hanged himself, thus ending his life. Muslim religion. The word sara't' can be used with
When we learned about the aBair, we were shocked reference to the laws of the ancient philosophers; never-
and grieved. NVediscussed his story back and forth, and theless, the juxtaposition of the ancient (philosophical)
one of those present said: What an excellent fellow' He sarttah and the new (Muslim) sarttah, as we find it in
this passage, is interesting.
91I am not quite certain whether this is the correct
89 I. e., a0poaur7Z, cf. Islamtc Cultxre 14.407 n. 4 interpretation of the passage.
( 1940 ) . 92. . . eanEq4la-ntaha ba'd . . .
 250 ROSENTHAL: On Sutcidetn Islam
but I do not think that I am imposing on you, because
that suicide might be committed under the influenee of you are so much interested in all theoretical and prac-
ideas and hallueinations which would not have been
tical aSairs. ZIoreover,this muqabasah is not entirely
supported by a elear mind and would not have oceurred uninstructive. I ask you to use your imagination and
to a person in the full possession of his mental faeulties. to put the various parts of this m1zqabasah together.
Later on, in the other world, the person who eommitted You might then be able, following the most excellent
suieide under sueh eircumstanees would realize the base- models, to close your eyes before gs something which
ness of his aetion and the great mistake he made; then,
perhaps might seem somewhat confused and not entirely
he eannot repair, correet, or retraet what he did.
Even if complianee with the demands of the intellect, understandable. linowing your noble personality, I am
that you will do that in order to do justice to tne,
or information derived from botll intelleet and revelation sure
him to eommit sueh a deed, he your friend.
would have required
should not have handed himself over to destruetion. At-Tawhldl'sdiscussionshowsthat somepeople
He should not have of his own free will done some- of the opinionthat an individual
thing whieh is despised by persons who are diseerning in his time were
and ingenious, religious and noble. Ee should not have was permitted commitsuicideat his own discre-
to
broken established eustoms, opposed entrenehed opinions, tion, especially under adverse circumstances.96
and usurped the rights of nature. But all the more so Much more prominence,however,is given to the
shouId he have refrained from his deed sinee intelleet view, namely,that both religion
and speeulation have decided, without leaving the oppositepoint of
slightest doubt, that man must not separate those parts and logic forbid the commissionof suicide.
and limbs that have been joined together (to form his The impressionprevailsthat at-Tawhldlfavored
body); for it is not he who has put them together, and the latter alternative. It is, however,importantto
it is not he who is their real owner. He is merely a
tellant in this temple93 for Him Who made him dwell
observethat both the introductionand conclusion
therein and stipulated that in lieu of the payment of of the discussionof suicidehint at the necessity
to
rent for his dwelling he take care of its upkeep and pre- take the whole nsuqabsBsah as a unit in which the
servation, its eleaning, repair and use, in a mannel various parts elucidate each other and of which
whieh would help him in his seareh after happiness in the real meaning will be disclosedonly after the
both this world and the next world. stated in the
If 94 an individual'siaspirations are limited to gathering most careful scrutiny. Since it was
provisions for his journey to the abode of righteousness, first part of the muqabasahthat only a virtuous
he can be eertain to reaeh his goal and to stay there. life is real esistence,at-Tawhidl'sattitude toward
There he will find, all at the same time, plenty of good suicidemay havebeensimilarto that found in the
things, eontinuous rest, permanent beatitude, and ever-
present joy; there will be no indigenee or need, no Book of the
AppZeand the Socratic literature,
damage or loss, no sadnes or grief, no failure or diffl- namely, that merely a sense of duty toward his
eulties This will be the reward of an aeeeptable way of bodyshouldpreventa virtuous,rationalbeingfrom
life and of a long practiee of sublime human qualities, committingsuicide, which in itself is a compara-
as well as a belief in the truth, propagation of righteous- act.
ness, and kindness toward all creatures. If an individual tively irrelevant
lives in a manner eontrary to this, the permanent Inisery
. .

Wis fawayh, a contemporary and acquaintanceof

whieh he mrillhave to endure and from whieh he will not at-Tawhidi, derived from Greek philosophy the
be able to escape will be correspondingly great. statementthat it is cowardice rather than courage
\ATeask God in Whose hands rests the power over to strangle or poison oneself in order to escape
everything that He may guide us toward that way of life a welcome
which is preferable for this world and which will lead poverty or humiliation.97 However,
to greater happiness in the world to come. For if we confirmationof the philosophicalleniency with
were left Tithout His kind care and customary benevo- regardto suicide comesfrom a quarterwherewe
lence, we would be lost and forsaken.. \Ve would have to wotlldhardlyexpectit. Al-Qirqisanl's(lOth cent.)
expect a very sad fate at the resurrection in the other Qaraitelaw and religion con-
world, and long suSering and great grief would be our long expositionof
lot. tains a chapter on suicide which deals with the
O God! Have mercy with our weakness and cover us problemfrom the Jewish point of view, but has
with Your kindness and helpfulness, so that sve may some introductoryremarkswhich are of general
turn to You wholeheartedly, entrust our affairs to Your irlterest.98Al-Qirqisanlobservesthat one hardly
guidance willinglyn place our confidencein You in repen-
tance, and enter into Your protection with a sincere
heart, O Lord of the worIdst 950r rather: to find out?
Various topics have been discussed in this muXqabasah, 98Cf. above, p. 247.
973fiskawayh, Tahdlb al-ablaq 62 (Cairo, 1298/1881).
9S I. e., the human body. 98Kttab al-anwar u7a-l-maraqtb 683-7 (book 4, ch. 47,
94wa-<tda>kana . . . fa-la budd . . . ? ed. by L. Nemoy, New Wrork,1941) . Nemoisrhas pub-
 O ..
251

ever finds an authorwho devoteshis attentionto That verses extolling the desirabilityof death
the problemof suicide; then, he goes on to say: could be an additionalincitementto commit sui-
" And I mention suicide only because I have cide is shown by the story of Abu Mmad, a son
noticedthat someadepts of speculation (man yan- of the Samanid unaztrAbu Bakr b. Hamid (first
tahtl an-nazar) considerit permissibleand main- half of the lOth cent.). It is stated that Abu
tain that he who commitssuicide does not deserve Ahmadcould not overcomethe loss of the wealth
any punishment (in the other world); for they and luxury in which he had been broughtup; a
say, no one else sufferedharm through him, but passage of the Qurfn 2.54( 51) ,101and the fol-
he caused harm only to his own soul (himself) lowing verses by Mansurb. Ismatil al-Misrl al-
of which he is the owner." Al-Qirqisanidoes not faq (d. 306/918):
state whether the "adepts of speculation,"i. e., I always said, when they gave boundless praise to life:
the studentsof Greekphilosophy,whomhe has in There are a thousand unknown virtues in death.
mind, were members of the Jewish or Muslim For example: when one is dead, one need no longer be
faith. Since, however,the educatedJews of the afraid of having to face death later,l02 and one also get3
tenth century fully shared in the intellectuallife rid of unfair companions,l03
of their Muslim environment,the situation de- confirmedAbu Ahmadin his intentionto comInit
scribedby al-Qirqisaniapplied to all his contem- suicide. Beforehe took the poisonwhich brought
porariesregardlessof religion. abouthis death,he composedthe followinglines:
Philosophicaldisregardof the religiousprohibi-
tion of suicidemight also havefoundits expression Whoever hopes that he may livc I would rather hope
in two treatises by the great scientist Ibn al- that I may die and thus be free.
There are a thousand virtues in death. If they were
Haytam (d. 430/1039), who was a youngercon- known, death would generally be loved.l°4
temporaryof at-Tawhidi. UnfortunatelySonly the
titles are preserved. They read: On makingdeath
desirableto man accordingto the discussionsof II. REPORTED CASES OFSlrIGIDER105
the ancients,and Anothertreatiseon the samesub-
ject accordtngto the discussionsof the moderns.99 1. INTRODUCTORY REMARES.
It seemsfairly certainthat these treatisesdid not By far the greatestnumberof reportedsuicides
deal with the opinionsof those pious personswho concerns cases in which suicide was committed
considereddeath desirablebecauseit would give in anticipation of an inevitable death which
them the opportunityto standbeforetheir Lord.100
We might possiblyfind in Ibn al-Eaytam'streatises Cf. above p. 240.
anothervariationof the philosophicaldemonstra- Cf. also the various collections of sayings on the
102

subject of death, as, for instance, that by Ibn tAqnin in

tion that the common human fear of death is his Ttbb an-nutus (A. S. Halkin, in Proceedings of the
unjustified. If this shouldbe the case,they would Amerwan Academy for Jewish Research 14.123, no. 232,
have no bearingon the subjectof suicide; for the 1944) .
treatiseswhichaim at dispellingthe innate human On another occasion Manstr al-faqxh expressed the
103

any mention of commonplace idea that a death in battle is preferable

fear of death quite naturallyomit to a life of humiliation cf. Ibslhf H£rbstatraf 1.87.
the possibilitythat a humanbeing might kill him- For Mansur's biography, cf., especially, Ibn VallikanX
self. IIowever,the wording of the titles in the Watayat, and Subki, Tabaqat as-S4li'tyah 2.317 (Cairo,
list of Ibn al-Haytam'sworkswould seem to sug- 1324) .
10 Cf. Ta'alibi, Yatsmat ad-dahr 4.2ff. (Damascus,
also had in mind 1304/1886-7).
gest that the philosopher-scientist Ta'Alibiis quoted by Majd al-}Iulk Jatfar
people to whom death appearedso desirablethat b. Bams al-gilAfah, sitab al-Adab 107 ( Cairo, 1349/
they chose to die by their own hands. 1931), and A. BIez, Die Renaissat6ce des Isldms 354
(Heidelberg, 1922). The verses also appear in Ibn Abt
lished an English translation of the chapter in JBL l-Hadid, Sarh Cahj al-balagah 2.388 (Cairo, 1329/1911).
57.411-20 ( 1938) . 105 In addition to A. Mez's references to suicide in the

99 Cf. Ibn Abi Usaybl'ah, 'Uyw6n al-anb¢' 2.95, 1. 5f.
(ed. by A. Muller, Cairo-Konigsberg 1882-4).
100One also encounters the view that the meeting of
the Lord is something to be dreaded. Cf. also above
p. 243.
4th/lOth century, some material has been collected by
Mustafa Jawad, al-Muntahirun ft l-J4hilyah wa-l-Isldma
in al-Hilal 42.475-9 ( February, 1934), and, for the
Muslim west, by H. Peres, I,a poesie andalouse en arabe
classique au ZIe siecle 466f. (Paris, 1937. Publications
 252 ROSENTHAL: On S¢icide in Islam
more often than not wouldhave been precededby
cruel tortures. There is hardly ever any blame
attachedto this kind of suicide,nor doesit provoke
any specificcomment. It wouldseemthat the age-
old tradition of history and myth which of3ers
many examplesof a self-inflicteddeathin the face
of an inescapablefate or the threatof dishonorhas
proved to be strongerthan religious injunctions.
A few exampleswill sufficeto show how his-
torical and legendary tradition made the Arabs
acquaintedwith a lenient attitude toward suicide
under certain circumstances.
Sanatruq,king of al-Bahrayn,beingon the point
of being capturedby Ardaslr, jumped from the
wall of his castle and thus perished.106
A marriedJewish basket-makerwhom the wife
of the king intendedto seducehad no other way
out but to plunge himself down from the roof of
the high castle. He was miraculouslysaved.107
On the other hand, Saul's suicide is not known
to Muslim authors.l08 The silence of Muslim
de l'InstitFut d'lf tFudes orientales, Fact6lte des Lettres
d'Alger 5).
Mez mentions the cases of suieide referred to in nn.
104, 139, 144, 145, and 148; Peres those in nn. 114 and
147; and MustafA Jawad those in nn. 68, 110-2, 132,
134-6, 144, 161, 163, 165, and 171-3.
MustafA JawAd does not indicate his sources, but it is
obvious that for the cases of the 7th/13th century he
draws upon his edition of Ibn al-Fuwati, al-Hawadit
al-J4mttah ( Bagdxid, 1351/1932-3) . The fact that so
many cases of suicide are found in Ibn al-Fuwatf's
History is convincing proof of the assumption that it is
mainly due to the character of our sources that the
reported cases of suicide in Islam are so exceedingly rare.
An article by C. H. \A;oodman,The suicide of the
Ottomans, in Appleton's Journal 17, N. S. 2.533f. (New
York, 1877), although it is mentioned in H. Rost's
eomprehensive Bibttographte des Selbstmords no. 2579
(Augsburg, 1927), has, of course, nothing to do with
suicide, but deals with the " suicidal " policy of the
Turkish Empire, especially with regard to its minorities.
Since the summer of 1943 when I first started to work
on my notes on suicide in Islam, I have had little time
and opportunity to do extensive reading in Arabie
literature. I do not doubt that more cases of suicide
than are listed in the following pages have been recorded
by Muslim authors.
106Cf. Tabari, Annales 1.820 (ed. by M. J. De Goeje
and others, Leyden, 1879-1901).
107 Cf. SarrAj, Masdrt' 89f. (Stambul, 1301/1884), in
R. Paret, Fruharabtsche Liebespeschwhten 70f. ( Bern,
1927); AbA l-Layt as-Samarqandf,Tanbth al-g8f l?n 226f.
( Stambul, 1325/1907) .
108 Cf. Tabarf, Annales 1.558f.; KisA'f, Qitsas al-anbiyd'
tradition on tllis point may not be entirely acci-
dental, since it may be assumedthat the Biblical
report of Saul's end was objectionableto the
Jewish and Christian informants from whom
Muslim historiansand theologiansreceixredtheir
lnformatioll on Israelite history. Al-Qirqisanl,
however,in agreementwith other Jewish scholars,
states that " Saul could not escapepunishmentat
the hands of his enemies. Therefore,he chose
death by his own hand, beforehis enemieswould
kill him. Otherwise,he might have sufferedsome-
thing worsethan death. For this reasonhis suicide
is excusable."109
SomeArabtriballeaderswho reacheda veryold
age and did no longercommandthe full respectof
the wholetribe,are said upon realizingtheir plight
to havestarteddrinkingpurewine,until they died.
Two of these mt4'ammarun, reportedby Muslim
antiquariansto have sufferedsuchfate, are Zuhayr
b. Janab and Amr b. Eultum.1l0 Their action
couldhardlybe calledsuicide. However,the third
person who is said to have died in the same
manner, Amir Mulatibal-asinnah,the uncle of
Amir b. at-Tufayl, according to other sources,
committed suicide by stabbing himself with his
own swordin a state of drunkenness.1ll Charac-
teristically enough, the nllmerous (pre-Islamic)
Arabs who are mentiolled in the mutammarin
literatureneverthink of suicide,althoughthey are
loath of life and considerdeath preferableto the
infirmitiesof old age; the sameattitudecontinued
to prevail throughoutthe whole Muslim poetical
literaturedealingwith the subjectof old age.
182 ( Cairo, 1308/1890-1) ; M. Grunbaum,Neue Beitrdipe
zur semitischen Sagenkunde 185ff. (Leyden, 1893) .
Kitab al-anwar una-l-maraqib, loc. ctt.
110Cf. AbA HAtim as-SijistAni, ]¢qxtammar¢n, in I.
Goldziher,Abhandlt6ngen zur arabischen Philologie 2.24-9
(Leydell, 1899); further, Agano 21.93ff. (ed. by R. E.
Brullnow, Leyden, 1888. Zuhayr b. 3anab), and 9.184
(Bulaq, 1285/1868-9. 'Amr b. Kultum; nothing is said
here about suicide). Ibn Qutaybah, Sitr 274 (de Goeje).
1ll Cf. AbA HAtim as-SijistAnf, loc. cit.; Ta'alibf,
Timar 78f. (Cairo, 1326/1908); Ibn HamdAn,Tadkirah,
excerpts in translation published by A. v. Kremer, in
Sitz.-Ber. BE. Akad. d. IViss., philos.-hist. Classe 6.424
(Vienna, 1851) .
Ibn Habib, Kitab al-m1bhabbar 470-3 (ed. by I. Lieh-
tenstadter, Hyderabad, 1361/1942 ), adds al-Burj at-Ta'i
to this group. Cf. also Agans 12.127f.
Of course, cases of men who die from excessive
drinking, like Ibn Qaratakin who perished in 340/951
are no suicides (cf. AIiskawayh, Tajarib, in Amedroz-
Margoliouth, Eclipse 2.143, transl. 5.150).
 ROSENTHAL: On Suictdetn Islam
The motif of the miraculouscureof a hopelessly
sick personwhoin despairtried to end his ownlife
is not unknownto the Arabs. Thus the attempted
suicide of the poet Abu 'Azzah'Amr b. 'Abdallah
al-Jumahi (killed after Uhud, anno 3/625 ) re-
sultedin his being curedfrom his disease.1l2NVith
the later Muslim authors who are interested in
medical curiosities,the cure, especially,of dropsy
througha self-inflictedwoundis a populartheme,
but the intention of suicide as a rule is not
apparent.ll3
The interplayof a heroic tradition,which pre-
ferred death to dishonor, and a religion, which
consideredsuicide prohibitedunder any circum-
stances, can occasionallybe observed. Thus it is
reportedthat the 'AbbadidCaliphal-Muttamidwho
was certain to fall into the hands of his enemies
during the siege of his castle near Sevilla in 1090
refrainedfrom committingsuicide becauseof the
magnitudeof this step. al-Muttamidwas not killed
by the enemy on that occasion,but he lived for
five more years in great misery.l14 The report
servesas an introductionto a poemby al-Muttamid.
In view of these facts, it is not impossiblethat the
Caliphhimself (or soznelater historian) invented
the story of his religious scruples in order to
explain why he preferreda life in disgraceto an
honorabledeath.
In this connectionone might also refer to the
case of al-'Adid bi-llah, the last of the Fatimid
rulersof Egypt, who died in 567/117l, three days
after the mentioning of the 'Abbasidshad been
substitutedto that of the Fatimids in the h¢tbah,
al-'Adid had been ill before, and it is doubtful
whetherhe ever learnedbefore his deceaseabout
this deathblow to his dynasty. Nevertheless,
rumors circulated (in Egypt) to the effect that
in despairaboutthe final decline of his powerhe
endedhis own life by suckingthe poisonousstone
of a ring he was wearing.1l5
112 Cf. Tanuhl, Faraj 2.94 (Cairo, 1903-4); Ibn Habib,
Kitab al-mxhabbar 300f.
113 Cf., for instance, Usamah b. Munqid, Ittibar 2.108
(ed. by H. Derenbourg,Paris, 1886-9. Publ. de l'lEcole des
langues or. viv. II, 12), transl. by P. K. Hitti 176f.
(New York, 1929).
114 R. P. Dozy, Historiaz Abbodidarum 1.303f.. (Lei-
den, 1846-63) . Cf. R. Dozy-E. IJvi-Provengal, Histoire
des llIusulmans d'Espayne 3.150f. ( 2nd ed. Leyden, 1932) .
115 Cf. Sibt Ibn al-Jawzl, Mir'&t az-zamdn 181.-AbA
l-Fida', Annales Muslemici 5.68, anno 682/1283-4 (ed.
by J. J. Reiske, Copenhagen, 1794), says about Mastud
253
Occasionally,the discrepancycreatedby tradi-
tion and religionin the popularsentimentregard-
ing suicidewas cleverlyexploitedby unscrupulous
princes. In 646/1249, the Ayyubidrulerof Egypt,
al-Malikas-$alih, wantedto send his brotherand
predecessor,al-WIalikal-'Adil,into exile to Sawbak.
When al-'Adil refused to go, as-$alih's retainers
killed him. Then, the rumorwas spreadthat al-
'Adil had strangledhimself; he was buriedlike a
stranger,withoutthe customarymourningrites.1l6
as-$alihmayhavespeculatedthat the peoplewould
willingly accept the fact that al-'Adil had killed
himself in his misfortune,but, at the same time,
have no sympathyfor a man who committedthe
grave sin of suicide.
In this connectionit is necessaryto mentionthe
motif of suicide committedby would-beprophets
and foundersof religioussects in orderto deceive
the simple-minded. This motif has been ascribed
to the Iranian hereticknownas al-Muqanna'.In
contrastto othersourceswhichstate that he ended
his life by poison,1l7it is also reportedthat he
b. KaykA'ts b. Kayhusraw, whom he considers the last
of the Saljtqs of Asia Minor and whose death he places
in the year 708/1308-9, that he lost his power and
reportedly ended his own life by poison. However, the
accuracy of this statement of the distinguished historian
is open to grave doubts.
The poisonous ring, as the royal instrument of suicide,
plays a considerablerole in classical and ancient oriental
tradition. Afrln, for instance, was said to have died in
this manner, cf. Ta'alibf, Bistoire des rows des Perses
729 (ed. by H. Zotenberg, Paris, 1900); Mugultay,
SIartyrs of Love 1.171 (Spies). Firdawsf T.4().>) (NIohl),
omits mention of the ring. Cf. Tabari, Annales 3.140.
116Cf. Sibt Ibn al-Jawzf, srat az-zamdn 512.
A Qutlug Elan ruler of Kirman, Jalal ad-din Suyur-
gatmis, suffered a similar fate at the hand of his sister
Padisah ElAtun, in the year 693/1294? cf. ElamdallAh
Mustawff, Ta'rtb,-i-Gundah1.532, abridged transl. 2.133,
ed. and transl. by E. G. Browne (Leyden, lglO-13. E. J.
W. GibbAlemorial Series 14).
Upon the order of the SultAn al-Malik an-Nasir Hasan
EljbugA of Tripoli killed Sayf ad-dln ArgAn Bah, Gov-
ernor of Damascus, in a Damascus prison. EljbugAthen
declared that Argun Sah had been found with the knife
which had caused his death in his hand, " implryingthat
he had killed himself," cf. Ibn Tagribirdf, lf ujum, ed.
by W. Popper, anno 750/1349, in Untv. of Califorsxi.
Publ. in Semitic Philology 5.7(3f. (Berkeley, 1932ff.).
In early 'Abhasid times, Ahmad b. Hisam appears to
have planned to poison Yah.ya b. :E[aqlanand to make
people believe that Yahya committed suicide, according
to a story in Tanuhi, Faraj 1.118 (Cairo, 1903-4), fol-
lowing Jahsiyarl (cf. M. 'Awwad, in Revue de l'Acad.
Ar. de Damas 18.322, 1943).
117 See below n. 135
254 ROSENTHAL: On Suicide in Islam

attempted to burn himself to death so that his wereexpectantmothersobviouslyhas its origin in

followersmight think that his body had vanished ways of thinking uninfluencedby Islam.12l
from the earth. EI:owever, his half-burnedcorpse The stories of lovers who committed suicide
was found in the oven which he had used for his becausethey were preventedfrom being together
purpose.ll8 have persistently lived on in Arabic literature.
Another category of suicide stories most defi- Usually it is a suddenunexplaineddeath,or a slow
nitely reflectsancient customsand literary tradi- fading-away,which cannotbe called suicide, that
tions which Islam did not entirely succeed in leadsto the deathof unfortunatelovers the death
stamping out. These are the stories of suicide of the enamoredBanu Uelrah " welche sterben,
committed on account of an unfortunate love wenn sie lieben."122 In later centuries,the volu-
afEair.llg minous Arabic encyclopaediasdevoted to those
Pre-Islamic concepts appear to be responsible celebratedstories speeial chapters On those who
for certain cases of this type of suicide among ktlled themselveso¢t of love.123
Bedouins. It is true that there is little signifi- However,cases of a violent self-inflieteddeath
canceto the case of " a Bedouin (who) shot him- are not entirely absent from those stories. The
self at the nuptialsof a wife whomhe had divorced, Pyramus-and-Thisbe motif of the lover who com-
mits suicide out of grief over the supposeddeath
and who had marriedanotherman." It is, how-
of his belovedwho, being alive and learningabout
ever, interestingto observethat this suicide story her lover's suicide, in turn makes an end to her
is coupledwith the world-widelegendarymotif o£ ownlife, is attributedto one of the Banu tUdrah.l24
the maidenswhoprecipitatedthemselvesfroma hill Another version of the same story does not lead
top in orderto escapemarriageto men wwhom they to suicide: A lover,upon findinghis girl killed by
disliked.120Also the customarysuicide of unwed a lion, kills that lion, then gives directionsto be
Ruwalagirls whoseloversdesertedthem whenthey buriedtogetherwith his beloved,and, immediately
after, dies himself from shock.125
1ls Cf. BlrAni, At!ar 211 (ed. by E. Sachau, Leipzig, Anothertragic love motif is representedby the
1878), transl. by the same 194 (London, 1879). Birani story of Abbasof the Banu Hanlfah. In a dark
mentions 169/785-6 as the date of al-Muqanna"s death.
The most detailed account of al-Muqanna' is found in night, Abbasmistakeshis belovedand the girl in
an-Narsahi's Ztstory of BubZara,which I consulted in an her companyfor some of his pursuers. Ee kills
English translation prepared bJrRichard N. Frye. his beloved with an arrow-shot,then, realizing
119 In view of the eternally human aspect of the subject
it would, of course, be pedantie to try to press all the tragic mistakehe made, he recites two verses
suicides of this type into the strait-jacket of literary to the effect that such a cruel blow of fate calls
tradition. If we had any accurate statistics, we might for either patience or suicide. He decides upon
find a much larger number of such cases.
BIoderntimes lie outside the seope of this paper, but the latter courseand severshis jugular veins Xwith
ef. an instance from nineteenth eentury Persia, men- a knife.l26
tioned by E. G. Browne, A Year amongst the Perstans
499 (2nd ed., Cambridge, 1927). 121 Cf. A. Musil, The Slanners and Customs of the
l20Cf. J. L. Burekhardt, Cotes on the Bedoutns and Rwala Bedvoutns240 (New York, 1928). Unless the girl
Wahabys 156n. (London, 1830) . The legend of the kills herself, her father or brother would kill her.
Maiden Rock is quoted by J. Wisse, Selbstmord dund 122 H. IIeine, Der Asra, in Romanzero, 1. Buch. - Cf.
Todesfurcht 143 and 439. Ibn Qutaybah, 'Uyun al-ahbar 4.131 ( Cairo, 192.v-30)
A woman who was deserted by her husband is said to 123 Cf. Nuwayrf, Nthayat al-arab 2.195-7 ( Cairo, 1343/
have precipitated herself from the top of a hill, aeeording 1924) . Ibsthi's chapter on those who died from love
to A. Jaussen, Coutumes des Arabes au pays de Moab (Mustatraf 2.199-206) contains no cases of suicide
96 ( Paris, 1908) . Jaussen also reports three other proper. Mugultay, Martyrs of Love 1.96f., 98, 104, 152f.,
cases of suicide. 168f., 178f., 190f., and 200ff. ( Spies ), contains stories
UsAmahb. Munqid, Itttbar 2.111, transl. by Hitti 17'3, involving suicide.
tells the story of a Kurdish girl who had been captured 124 Cf. Nuwayrf, Nthayat al-arab 2.195.
biy the Franks and was found drowned in the river. 125 Cf. Ibsihf, Mustatrat 2.203f. Cf. also SarrAj
Although the Arabie is not altogether clear, the text Masars' 294-6, in R. Paret, Frt4harobtsche IXebesge-
seems to imply that people thought that the girl had schtchten 18 and 75, where the different versions are
drowned herself in order to eseape dishonor. Cf. also discussed.
below nn. 149, 151, and 162. 126 Cf. Ibn Qutaybah, 'Uyun al-ahbar 4.133f.; Mugul-
 ROSENTHAL: OnSqltcide
Love suicides of a similar type in a Muslim
urban setting may already have been influenced
by the Greek conception of love.127 A famou.s
example is containedin a story which has been
preservedin a number of slightly different ver-
sions: A slavegirl, after havingreciteda coupleof
verses about the tribulationsof love, jumps into
the river; a male slave, reciting a few appropriate
verses to the effect that love compels him to
follow his beloved,likewise dives into the water,
and they both drownembracingeach other.128
Here again, we find instances of the interplay
between ancient traditions and religious inJunc-
tions. A young man was forcedto sell his beloved
slave-girland, in addition,lost the moneyhe had
receivedfor her. In desperationhe attemptedto
commitsuicidein the watersof the Tigris but was
escued by some near-bypersons. A sayh in the
crowd rebukedhim severely that he had risked
his soul, merely becausehe had lost his material
tWayS jIartyrs of Love 1.178f., from the sitab al-Ittild l
by Muhammadb. Jatfar al-Uara'iti.
127 Cf. above p. 247. Hellenistic influeneeis assumed by
G. s. Grunebaumfor the Arabian Nights (JAOS 62.283
n. 68, 1942; ef. below n. 129). The idea that a noble
prineess would prefer a self-ehosen death to eapture or
dishonor, as expressed in the stories of EaySt an-NufAs
(ArabiianNights 3.202, Cairo, 1302/1885) and of 'Umar
an-NutmAn and his two sons ( op. ctt. 1.156), could
hardly be traeed to any speeifie souree but a burlesque
trait, like the suieide of the bath attendant whose greed
had caused him to lead his wife into the arms of another
man (op. cit. 3.5S, stories about the artfulness of
women), may well have had a Greek prototype.
128 The story goes baek to al-Jahiz. Cf., for instanee,
Ibn DawAd,Zahrah 351ff.; Sarraj, Masari' 72, in R. Paret,
Fruharabische Loebesgeschichten 15; Ibu gallikan,
Wafayat 5.123f. (ed. by F. Wustenfeld, Gottingenn1835-
42), transl. by MaeG. De Slane 2.405-7 (Paris, 1842-68);
Nuwayrt, Nihayat al-arab 2.195. Instead of drowning,
another method of suieide used in this eonneetion is
smashing one's own brain.
For the Sllfie version of this story (whieh omits the
element of suieide ), ef. Eebrew TJntonCollepe Annual
15.445 (1940).
A transposition of this motif into historieal reality is
found in Ibn al-Atir, Kamil 11.270 (ed. by C. J. Tornberg
Uppsala, 1851); Ibn Katir 12.273, whose source is Ibn
as-Si't. In 569/1173-4 the young prinee AbA l-'Abbis,
who was soon to beeome Caliph under the name of
an-NAsir li-din AllAh, fell down from a high eupola
( qubbah) . When his servant, by the name of NajAh
who was with him, saw that, he threw himself down
after tIle prince. Both remained alive. When NajAh
was asked for the reason of his action, he replied: "I
did not want to survive my master."
in Islarn 255
possessions. The young man went home and still
felt so lonely that only the fear of the hell-fire
preventedhim from killing himself.129
While Islam was thus not fully able to triumph
over deeply engrainedtraditions,the great influ-
enceof its teachingsuponits adherentsshowsitself
in the fact that the statistics of suicide knowsof
hardlyany theologianwho endedhis own life. A
noteworthyexceptionis Ibn Sabtln,the philosopher
and mystic,who is said to have committedsuicide
in Mecea in 669/1271; in view of his eccentric
personalitywhich is so clearlyrecognizablein his
writings,his decisionto commitsuicidemight have
been influencedby an attitude of protest against
acceptedbeliefs and opinions.130But the general
truth of the statement that suicide hardly ever
occursamong orthodoxMuslimtheologiansseems
incontestable,and no perusal,howevercareful, of
the numerousbiographicaldictionariesof Muslim
divines is likely to refute this fact. lSowever,
some allowancemay be made for the possibility
that, if a theologianor a scholaractuallydid com-
mit suicide, the case was hushed up and did not
enter the historical records. A ripe old age is
considereda special blessing and a reward for
piety; it is said that the philosopherswho make
light of the religiouslaw are knownfor the rela-
tively young age at which they die,13land the
commission of suicide is considered a £urther
indication of the perversionof heretics.
WIuslimeducation also might account for the
fact that suicide among the insane is very rare.
A celebratedcase of this kind is that told about
the famous lexicographeral-Jawharl (d before
400/1010) . Al-Jawharl apparently suf3Cered a
nervousbreakdown;he is said to have fasteneda
couple of woodendoorwingsto his shouldersand,
under the illusion of being able to fly, to have
jumped from the roof of the Old Mosque in
Nlsabur.l32 Since in a state of mental derange-
129 Cf. Tanahi Faraj 2.152. Tt may, however, be noted
that the loss of his money, rather than that of his girl, is
considered the reason of the young man's attempted
suicide. This is the story which s. Grunebaumknows
from the Arabiax Nights (above n. 127).
130 Cf. below n. 167 and 168. The majority of sources
does not mention his suicide. Cf. n. 166 and 178.
131 Cf., for instance, Taskopruzadeh,Miftah as-sa'adah
2.4 (Eyderabad, 1329/1911) .
132 Cf., for instance, YAqtt, Irsad 6.157 (Cairo, 8. a.).
The story serves the purpose of explaining why al-Jaw-
hariS3Sihah was left unfinished at the time of his death.
256 ROSEN'1'HAL: OnSuicidein Islam

ment the individual does not foresee the fatal
result of his action, such cases can, of course,notDu s-Ramah,attemptedto end his life by cutting
be classifiedas suicides.
On the other hand, death as the result of
" suicidal" missions133 and of the desirefor mar-
tyrdomoccursnot infrequently,since suchdeathis
consideredhighly commendableaccordingto Mus-
lim religious concepts. However,such cases are
no suicides in the propersense of the term.
291/903: Whilein prison,the Qarmatianleader,
his veins with a splinter of a brokenporringer,
but he was savedand later on esecuted.139
4th/lOth cent. (first half?): Suicide of Abfi
Ahmadb. Abl Bakr.140
315/927-8: A certain Alrazi refused to hand
overto the waztr b. 'tsa a list of thoseBagdadls
tAli

and Rufis who were in correspondence with the

QarmatianAbil Tahir Sulaymanb. al-Hasan al-
2. A CHRONOLOGICALLIST. Jannabi. Emprisoned,the Siraziwent on a hunger
strike and died after eight days.14l His action is
23/644: Accordingto a dubioustradition,Abu not called a suicideby the authorwho reportsthe
Lu'lu'ah,the murdererof the Caliph'Umar,killed story, and it is doubtfulwhetherthe man antici-
himself with the same scimitar he had used for pated the fatal result of his action.
his deed, immediately after the murder. Abl^l
Lu'lu'ah,however,allegedlywas no Muslim,but a 332/943-4: A ZIuslimhistorian appearsto be
Christianor a Magian.134 impressed with the courage of a Russian youth
who killed himself with his scimitar when he
163/ffi779-80:The heretical-Muqanna', realizing realized that further resistance against the nu-
that he wouldnot be ableto escapethe enemywho merically superior Muslims under al-Marzuban
was besieginghis fortress,poisonedhis family and would be useless.142
also endedhis own life by poison.135
351/962: After his defeat by the Byzantines,
264/877 (or 260/873): There is no evidence Ibn az-Zayyat,the masterof Tarsus,Jumpedfrom
for the correctnessof the statementof alate source the balconyof his houseinto the riverwhichflowed
that the great Christianscholar,Hunaynb. Ishaq, underneathit, and drownedhimself.143
committedsuicide by swallowingpoison.136
369/980: al-}futahharb. 'Abdallah,a general
285/898(?): Salih b. Mudrikat-Tai, who had of the Buyid 'Adud ad-dawlah,committedsuicide
been engaged in robbing pilgrim caravans,saw by severingthe arteriesof both arms. lRerealized
that he wouldnot be able to avoidcaptureby Abil that he was unable to accomplishthe task which
l-Agarr. Therefore,he took a knife from a ser- had been entrustedto him, and he was afraidthat
vant, who brought him something to eat, and he might lose his position to his competitor,Abu
killed himself with it.137 Anothersource,however, l-Wafa'. The historianwho reportsthis event is
places ,Salih'sdeath in the year 287/900 and does
not make any mentionof his alleged suicide.138 Cf. 'Arlb, Tabari continuatus 4 (ed. by M. J. de
139

Goeje, Leyden, 1897); A. Mez, Renaissance 348.

183 I do not know of cases of suicide by HassAsln when
they svereapprehendedafter completionof their missions.
Cf, however, the famous story of al-Hasan b. as-SabbAh
ordering some of his followers to commit suicide before
the eyes of the envoy of Maliksah, quoted, for instance,
by Ibn Katir 12.159f., anno 494/1100-1.
134 Cf. Mas'fldf,Mu; 4.277 (ed. by Ch. A. C. Barbier
de Meynard-B. M. M. Pavet de Courteille, Paris, 1861^
77). Cf. also aazzali, Ihya' 4.342 (Cairo, 1326/1908).
1S5TabarS,Annales 3.494; Ibn t[allikAn, Wafay&t 4.
136f. (Wustenfeld), transl. by MacG. De Slane 2.205f.
See above p. 253f.
136 Cf. Bar Eebraus, Ta'Hh MuStasar ad-d¢wal 252
(ed. by A. >$cllhAnf,
Beirut, 1890). Cf. also F. Rosenthal
Die arabische Autobiographie 17 ( Studia Arabtca I,
Rome, 1937. Analecta Ortentalia 14).
137 Cf. Mas'Adi,BurOj 8.191f.
138 Cf. Tabart, Annales 3.219lf.
140 See above p. 251-
141Cf. Miskawayh, Tajaribn in Amedroz-Margoliouth,
Ecaipse 1.181f., transl. 4.204.
142 Op. cit. 2.67, transl. 5.74.
143 Op. cit. 2.191, transL 5.208. It is, of course, hardly
possible to decide whether persons who, as it is fre-
quently reported, die in jumpint, from the roof of a
house, or the like, while being pursued, do so in the
hope of escape or with a suicidal intention. The
mamluk, for instance, who killed his master, al-Malik
al-Amjad, and jumped from the roof of the house into
the middle courtyard, may have acted in this manner
because he preferred this type of suicide to a certain
death after capture (cf. AbA l-FidA' Annales M¢slemtcs
4.364, Copenhagen, 1792, anno 627/1229-30; Kutubt,
Fawat 1.81 BAlaq, 1299/1882) . Such cases are of
interest for us only if some author considers them
suicides.
 ROSENTHAL: OnStlicidein Islam 257

deeplyshockedby it and calls it ;' very remarkable, 474/1081-2: Out of grief over the death of his
since here is a man who throws his life awav son Dawud,the Saljuq Sultan Maliksahattempted
becausehe is afraid to lose his master'sfavor."144 several times to take his own life, but was pre-
369/979-80 (??): The same 'Adud ad-dawlah, vented from committing this act of desperatio
accordingto an earlythoughhardlyreliablesource, by his courtiers.150
compelledthe Hamdanid princess Jamllah bint 479/1086: After his defeat by Taj ad-dawlah
Nasr ad-dawlahto live in the whore district of Tutus the Salauqruler of Aleppo?Sulaymallb.
Bagdad; she preferred drowning herself in the QutulmisSkilled himself with his scimitar. Other
Tigris.l45
sources,however,claim that he was }illed in battle
392/1001: A certain Baban, confident of the or duringthe flight after his defeat.l5l It is inter-
waztr CFarruhan b. Siraz,killed himself in the bath, estingto observethat Sulayman'sfather,Qutulmis,
becausehe was persecutedby his enemiesafter the was found mysteriouslydead on the
battlefield
deathof his master. Ee was, hovever,no Muslim,
after his defeat by Alp Arslan in 456/1064, and
but a Magian.146
people thought that he Inight have died ;;from
399/1009: 'Abd ar-:Elahman Sanchol, ruler of fearnn 152 And in
(Dordoba, tried to kill himself in order to escape
tortureand esecution,but he was preventedfrom 500/1107: Sulayman'sson, Qilij Arslan?after
committingsuicide by his esecutioners.147 his aefeat by Jawali, a retainer of the Sultan
4th/lOth cent. (latter part??): A Christian MuhammadCah,chosedeath by drowninghimself
physician, Abu l-Hasan 'Ali b. Gassanal-BasrS, in the Habur. Most sources, however7assume
drownedhimself for a numberof reasonsSamong that his death in the Hibur was caused by an
them financialdifficultiesn illness, and a passionate accident.l53
love for someoneelse's slave.l48
500/1107: The wife of the Ismatlll leader,
beg. Sth/llth cent.: During the reign of al-
Hakim bi-amri llah, it is stated, many women Ahmad b. 'Abd al-Malikb. tUtas who had fallen
killed themselves because they feared that they into the handsof the Sultan Muhammadafter the
might suffer indignities from the black slaves conquestof his castle, Sahdiznear Isfahan, threw
whom al-Hakimhad instigatedagainst the Egyp- herself from the top of the castle and thus
tian population.149 perished.l54

468/1Q75-6: A storyof undeterminedhistorical 510/1116-7: When the troops of the African

reliabilitystatebsthat in Bagdada certain Ibn ar- Zlrid, 'All b. Yahya, routed the inhabitants of
Rawwaswas so deeplygrievedby the death of the
woman he loved that he did not eat and finally
150Cf. Ibn al-Atir, R-vmil 10.78f. (ed. by C. J. Torn-
strangledhimself.149a berg, Leyden, 1864). Ibn Tagribirdl, Nujven 5.113
( Cairo, 1353/1935), stresses the extraordinary character
144 Op. cit. 2.409-11> transl. 5.448-50. Cf. A. Mez, of Maliksah's behavior.
Renaissance 21. 151 Cf. EIs s. v. SulaymAn b. Kutulmish. Cf., further,
146 Mez, Renaissantce21 n. 9 and 341, refers to GUZA1iSIbn al-Qalanisi, Tatrth 119 (ed. by H. F. Amedroz,
Matali' al-budur 2.48 ( Cairo, 1300/1882 ), +rho quotes Beirut-Leyden, 1908); Ibn Katir, BtdOayah12.130;
Ta'alibl, Lat4'if 55f. (ed. by P. de JongS Leiden, 1867). Fikret Isiltan, Dte Seldtschuken des Akserayt 34 (Leip-
Cf.. also Amedroz-Margoliouth,Ecltpse 2.204 n., transl. zig, 1943. Samml1bngorien,talwoherArbeiten 12). Ibn
5.443 n. Katlr, loc. ctt., also mentions the attempted suicide of
146 Cf. HilAl as-SAbi', Ta'rth, in Amedroz-Margoliouth, the wife of Sabiq, Ismatill lord of Qal'at Jatbar, between
Eclipse 3.417, transl. 6.443. Balts and ar-Raqqah. Some people disapproved of her
147 Cf. R. Dozy-E. Levi-Provengal, Htstoire des Musul- action, but when she explained that she had sought death
mans d'Espagne 2.289. in order to escape the dishonor of falling into the hands
148 Cf. Tawhidi, Imt4' 2.169 (Cairoa 1942); Abfl of Maliksah, they thought that she had been right to try
l-Mutahhar Muhammadb. Ahmad Bihaydt Abt l-Qasirn to kill herself.
al-Bayddd ed. by A. Mez, Ab1blkdsim,ern bagdader 2 Cf. Ibn al-Atlr, Kamia 10.24; Ibn IlallikAn, Wafaydt
Stttenbtld 83 (:EIeidelberg,1902). Cf. Mez, Renaissance 8.18 (XAlustenfeld)transl. by MacG. De Slane 3.23lf.
354. lS3Cf. EI s.v. Ellldj Arslan; Ibn Ratir 12.167; Ibn
149 Ibn Kat-2r,Biddyah 12.10. Tagribirdi Nxjum 5.190f. (Cairo, 1353/1935), anno 498.
49aMugultAy, Martyrs of Lose 1.104 (Spies). 1S4Cf.Ibn al-Atir, Kamtl 10.302; Ibn Ratir 12.167.
 Atlr died without a previous illness. is father

258 ROSEN15IAL: On S?sicidein Islam

JabalWaslat,155 someof them endedtheir ownlives 647/1249-50: Husayn b. Taj ad-dln b. al-
by precipitatingthemselvesfrom the mountain.156 'Alqaml, a relative of the waz1rMu'ayyadad-din
b. al-'Alqaml, hanged himself. He appears to
520/1126: When the Ismatlll headman of a have been insulted in the course of a quarrel
villagein the county of Bayhaq,whosename was betweenhimself and a Jew?and when he did not
al-Hasanb. Samin ( ?), saw that he would not be succeed in having his case brought before the
able to eseape before the troops of the Sultan waztr,he committedsuicide ( ?).164
Sanjar, he ascended the minaret of the local
mosqueand jumped down to his death.l57 653/1255: A man in Bagdadaccusedhimselfof
the Inurderof a person who, he said, had made
532/1137-8: Ibn al-Buqusas-Silah.l,a governor improperadvances(ta 'arradab. . ) to him while
of Bagdad under the tIraql Saljuq C;yat ad-dln he was a youth. He stated that at that time he
MastQd, had been dismissedby his master£romhis had left the countryand had visited Syria, Jeru-
post in Bagdad becauseof his misrule, and was salem, and Mecca; now, he said, he had returned
held captive in the Fortressof Takrlt. as-Silahi in orderto atonefor his crime. Since no trace of
expected to be put to death and he preferred the family of the alleged victim could be found,
drowninghimself in the Tigris.158 the man was consideredinnocent. His feeling of
598/1202: A certain Ibn 'Atlvah haa accused guilt, however,causedhim to attempt suicide by
anotherman of having in his possessiona sum of cutting his jugular vein, but he was rescued i
moneybelongingto the waztr Abu Bakr b. 'At.tar. time.l65
Whenhe couldnot provehis accusationhe himsel£ 662/1264: Suicide of the rnuhadditAbu Tahir
was incarcerated. He threw himself into the well IsmaSl b. $arim al-Kinanl, in Egypt.l66
in the courtyardof his prison and perished.159
669/1271: 'Aba al-Haqqb. IbrahlmIbn Sabtln
604/1207-&: An offlcial of the treasury in reportedlycommittedsuicidein Meccaby severing
Bagdad, ar-Radl b. Hartamah, hanged himself. his veins.167For those who were opposedto his
EIe was under investigationfor embezzlement.l60teachings his suicide was a further proof of his
639/1241-2: 'Abdallahb. 'Abd ar-Rahmanal- heresy. Oneof his pupils7 however,contendedthat
Barjunl, a secretaryof the treasury in Bagdad7 Ibn Sabtin'svoluntarydecisionto commit suicide
ended his life by hanging himself, supposedly and thus to hasten his reunion with his Creator
becauseof an unfortunatelove afair.16l merely confirmedthe unusual characterof his
643/1245: The ten daughtersof an inhabitant personality.l68
of Damascusdid not want to exposethemselvesto 678/1279-80: The bodyof an unidentifiedman
possible dishonorin the streets of the war-torn who had hanged himself was found in the
city and preferredto stay in their house and be WIn'addin's qubbahof the Wizamlyah(::ollege.l69
burnedto death.t62 In the same year, a son of Majd ad-dln b. al-
645/1247-8: Badr ad-dlnMuhammadb. Ward,
an assistant secretaryof the treasuryin Bagdad, had beaten him in the presenceof a numberof
attempted without success to kill himself by important personalities, because he had played
cutting his throatwhile being held for the investi-
64Id. 248.
gation of his financial status.163 165 Id. 307.

l66Cf. G, Wiet, Les biographies dx Manhal Safi (by

tsb Apparently, Djebel Ousselat, about thirty miles Ibn Tagribirdl) 61 ( Cairo, 1932. Mem. de l'lnstitxt
west of Kairouan. d'Egypte 19 ) .
156Cf. Ibn al-Atir, Kafnil 10.366. 167 Cf. Kutubl, Fawat 1.247 (Bulaq, 1299/1882).
157 Cf. op. ctt. 10.445. 168 Maqqart,Nafh 1.592 (ed. by R. Dozy-G. DugaSL.
158 Cf. ap. cit 11.43. Erehl-W. \Vright, Leiden, 1855-61). Cf. also M. Amari,
158 Cf. Ibn as-Sa i, al-ams' al-MuAtasar 82f., part IX in JA V, 1.256 (1853). L. Massignon, Dte Urspruxge
(ed. by WInstafa Jawad, Bagdad, 13a3/i934) und die Bedeutung des Gnosttzismus im Islam, in Eranos-
Cf. op. GRt. 237. Jahrbuch 1937.76f. (Zurich 1938), is reminded by Ibn
61Cf Ibn al-FuwatS 149 Sab'ln's reported manner of death of Stoicism and Neo-
69Cf. Sibt Ibn al JawzZ, Mtr'at az-zam2n 498. Platonism.
169 Ibn al-Fuwatl 408.
a8Ibn al-Fuwatl 217
 ROSENTXAL:
truant. People said that the boy felt disgraced
becausehis father treated him that way, and ate
opium which caused his death.170It seems that
the authorwho reportsthis story is not convinced
that the boy intendedto destroyhimself by eating
the opium.
679/1280-1: A womanwhohad learnedthat her
husbandwas requiredto pay to the government
an amountof moneyfar beyondhis meanshanged
herself, becauseshe was afraid that she and her
husband would have to suffer estortion and
torture.ltl
684/1285: Becauseof the high prices and the
food shortage a woman threw herself into the
Tigris.l72
686/1287: Najln ad-dln,a tax-officialin Bagdad,
committedsuicide when he realizedthat he would
not be able to pay the outstandingsums of money
which he was requiredto pay.173
688/1289: Sihab ad-dln 'Umar, the son of a
daughterof $afl ad-dm'Abdal-al-Mu'min,hanged
himselfin his ow:nhouse,for no appare:atreason.l74
724/1324: A high official of the Egyptian
administration,Sarlm ad-dln al-kabtr,who had
met with some misfortunein his career,hanged
himself in prison.175
740/1340: A Christianconvertto Islam, Rizq-
allah b. iFadlallah,also a high EgyptiaIl official,
killed himself for similar reasons.176
769/1367-8: An Egyptian army officer, Say!
ad-dln Qunuq al-Izzl, who had been implicated
in an unsuccessfulrevolt, committed suicide by
drinkingwaterandswallowingsanduntil he died.177
788/1386: The q4.dtSihab ad-dln Ahmad b.
170 Id. 409.
171 Id. 413. 173 Id. 451.
172 Id. 447. 174 Id. 460.
176Cf. G. Wiet, Les biographies dtt Manhal Saf 213;
JA IX, 7.267-8 (1896); Ibn Iyasy Bda>tt 1.162 (Bulaq,
1311-2/1894) > anno 722.
176 Cf. G. Wiet, op. cit. 148.
177 Cf. G. Wiet, op. cit. 281; Ibn Tagribirdi, N4jxm, ed.
by W. Popper, in l7nsv. of California Ptsbl. sn Semitic
Philology 5.256. According to Wiet, op. crt. 75, another
army officer, Sayf ad-din IljAy al-Ytsuff an-NAsirf, who
like Qunuq had been implicated in an ansuccessful
revolt, died a suicide in 775/1373. Eowever, in the
7Vujum 5.220 (Popper), Ibn Tagribirdl states that Iljay
threw himself into the water in order to escape his
pursuers, but his heavy clothes dragged him down.
OnSuictdein Islam 259
Muhammadb. az-Zarkasldied suddenlyin Cairo.
People suspected that he had poisoned himself,
becauseof his many debts.178
795/1393: When the henchmen of al-Malik
az-Zahir Barqiiq were about to seize Mintas iIl
Syria, the latter inflictedfour woundson himself
with a knife, but he becameunconsciousand could
not finish his attemptedsuicide.179
799/1396: Iyas al-Jirjawidied while beingtor-
tured by Ibn at-Tablawl,upon ordersof Barquq.
There was a rumor that he had swallowedsome
poison which he carriedin a ring. Others,how-
ever, were of the opinion that his illness was the
cause of his death.180
800/1398: Ibn at-Tablawi tried to commit
suicide by slashinghis belly with a scimitarwhen
he was led to the tortureupon ordersof Barquq,
but his guards preventedhim from executinghis
intention.lsl
841/1438: A womanjumpedto her death£rom
the top of her house. She had been refusedper-
missionto participatein the funeral of her son by
Dawlat IIoja who had just been appointedmqlh-
tasib of Cairoin orderto enforcethe prohibition
for womento show themselvesin public.l82
889/1484: Oneof the crackarchersof the army
of al-Malik al-Asraf Qaitbey asked the latter to
transferto him the fief of some deceasedpersoIl.
Whenhis requestwas refused,he killed himself by
cutting his throat (dabaha nofsahSu)," because
he was angryat the Sultan."183 This is an inter-
esting instance of the type of suicide known as
suicide as revenge.184
893/1488: Similarly, an officer of the same
Sultan askedhim for the grant of a morelucrative
fief, since he had a large family to supportaIld
was in great financial difficulties. He, too, was
refused, and he went and hanged himself. The
authorwho reportsthis story185 stressesthe fact
that the officerin question was a religious aIld
intelligent man of an excellentcharacter.
l78Ibn Tagribirdi, Nm4jxnz 5.439 (Popper).
179 Op. cit. 5.550 (Popper)-
1800p. cit. 5*570 tPopper). Cf. also above p. 253.
1810p. cit. 5.580 (popPer)
1S2 Op. cit. 6.764 ( popper) -
1S3 Ibn Iyas, Bad4's' 2*225 ( Bulaq, 1311-2/1894) .
1S4 Cf. above p. 247.
185Ibn Iyas, BadE'it' 2.255 ( Bulaq, 1311-2/1894) .