The Funeral Prayer for One Who Committed Suicide

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

There is no restriction against cleaning, burying and performing the swalah al-janazah for a person who has committed suicide.  There are narrations, as recorded by Imam Abu al-Husayn ‘Asakir ad-Din Hajjaj ibn Muslim (r.a.), Imam Abu ‘Isa Muhamad ibn ‘Isa at-Tirmidzi (r.a.), Imam Abu Dawud Sulayman ibn al-Ash’ats (r.a.) and several other others, where the Prophet (s.a.w.) did not pray over an individual who had committed suicide.  This should not be taken to mean that this is proscribed, but is taken by jurists to be a disapproval of suicide, and not encourage it.  There is no indication of explicit impermissibility of performing the swalah al-janazah for the deceased. 

al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, the compilation of fatawa of Hanafi scholars in the time of the Mughal Sulthan Aurangzeb, stated, “The one who kills himself intentionally is prayed over, according to Abu Hanifah (r.a.) and Muhammad (r.a.).  This is the sounder position, as mentioned in Tabyin.”  The “Muhammad” here, does not refer to the Prophet (s.a.w.), but Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybani (r.a.), the second most prominent student of Imam Abu Hanifah Nu’man ibn Tsabit(r.a.), and the teacher of Imam Abu ʿAbdullah Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi’i (r.a.).  The “Tabyin” is Imam Jamal ad-Din ‘Abdullah bin Yusuf az-Zayla’i’s (r.a.) Tabyin al-Haqa’iq Sharh Kanz ad-Daqa’iq, a commentary on Imam Najm ad-Din Abu Hafṣw ‘Umar ibn Muhammad an-Nasafi’s (r.a.) Kanz ad-Daqa’iq: fi al-Fiqh al-Hanafi, another major book of fiqh. 

Imam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah at-Tumurtashi (r.a.) wrote, in his Tanwir al-Abswar, “The one who kills himself intentionally is washed and prayed over.” 

Imam ‘Ala ad-Din Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Haswkafi (r.a.) explained, in his commentary of this work, Durr al-Mukhtar Sharh Tanwir al-Abswar, “This is the fatwa position.  This is even though it is a greater sin than killing another.”  Imam al-Haswkafi (r.a.) then contrasted this with the fatwa of Imam Kamal ad-Din Muhammad ibn al-Humam ad-Din al-Hanafi (r.a.), who chose the position of Imam Abu Yusuf Ya’qub ibn Ibrahim al-Answari (r.a.), that the deceased is washed, but not prayed over, because of the hadits in Swahih Muslim that, “The Prophet (s.a.w.) did not pray over a man who had killed himself.” 

Imam Muhammad Amin ibn ‘Abidin (r.a.) explained, in his supercommentary, hashiyah, Radd al-Muhtar ‘ala ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, that Imam Zayn ad-Din ibn Ibrahim ibn Nujaym al-Miswri (r.a.) wrote, in his al-Bahr ar-Ra’iq Sharh Kanz ad-Daqa’iq that, “There is difference regarding the sounder position, though the second position,” referring to the fatwa of Imam Abu Yusuf (r.a.), “is reinforced by the hadits.” 

Imam ibn ‘Abidin (r.a.), however, objected to this, and wrote, “I say: It can be said that there is no indication in the hadits about this, because all it says is that he did not pray over him.  It would appear that he did not pray over him to warn others from such actions, in the same way that he did not pray over the one in debt.  It is not entailed from this that none of the companions prayed over that individual.”  He continued, “This is also what was researched in Sharh al-Munya.”  “Sharh al-Munya”, here, refers to Ghunya al-Mutamalli fi Sharh Munya al-Muswalli, by Imam Burhan ad-Din Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Halabi (r.a.). 

Imam ibn ‘Abidin (r.a.) further wrote, pertaining to this difference of opinion, “Know, too, that this is regarding one who killed himself intentionally.  As for the one who did so by mistake, there is no difference of opinion that they are prayed over.” 

This is also the position of the Shafi’i madzhab.  Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi (r.a.) wrote, in his Minhaj ath-Thalibin wa ‘Umdat al-Muftiyyin, “The one who kills himself is like others in being washed and being prayed over.” 

Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami (r.a.) wrote, in his commentary, Tuhfat al-Muhtaj li Sharh al-Minhaj, that the hadits in Swahih Muslim is, “understood to be in order to warn against such actions.  Actually, ibn Hibban said in his Swahih that the hadits was abrogated.”  He was referring to Imam Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Faysal ibn Hibban (r.a.).