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What is the ruling on suicide to avert a threat of killing an innocent person or one's family?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If you are coerced into an act that concerns others, such as killing, it is not permissible to proceed with it. Coercion in this case is not considered to waive the obligation, whether the threat of killing is directed at the person themselves or their family.

In such a situation, one should seek reconciliation, and if it is not achieved, the matter must be escalated to the responsible authorities.

As for suicide, it is absolutely forbidden for a Muslim to commit it. It does not solve any problem, and it is considered a loss in this world and the hereafter, and it incurs Allah's wrath.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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