Trigger Warning: frequent mentions of suicide

“How can we come to perceive something as difficult as suicide through a lens of mercy, when we don’t know our religion’s mercy in the first place?”

In our third episode of You Can Tell Us, Saba, Leen, and Rifoo discuss how our perception of Islam as Maldivians affect our understanding of suicide.

We try to break down the interaction of culture and religion, and lay out facts from Islam in regards to how it speaks of suicide. This was our humble attempt at highlighting the mercy of Allah and how we often forget to reserve judgement for the One who created us.

Disclaimer: we are not Islamic scholars, all information stated is from research of Islamic scholars and verified hadith (refer below)

Additional note from Leen:

I mentioned that all mental health disorders are treatable along with mentioning the preventable nature of suicide at 37:00. This was not to imply an easy cure for every disorder, but in reference to individuals who suffer from all mental health disorders being able to live meaningful lives through help and assistance from community and the right resources.

Timestamps:

(2:07) - Society’s initial reaction to suicide through a religious lens

(4:05) - Religion’s interaction with culture

(5:10) - Lack of religious knowledge

(8:27) - Difficulties in shifting religious mindset

(10:13) - Lack of accessibility of religious resources to older population

(12:45) - Facts about suicide in Islam

(18:32) - Beauty of Islam

(19:30) - Mercy of Allah SWT

(21:30) - How culturally influenced religious perspective about suicide affects help/treatment seeking behavior

(23:20) - Muslims' contributions to the field of mental health

(25:00) - Why we shouldn't say mental health isn't apart of Islam

(28:50) - The relationship between mental distress and faith is not causal but rather correlational

(31:00) - The repercussions of the distrust in Allah's mercy

(34:00) - Importance of knowing the difference between religion and culture

(34:40) - Highlighting the importance of actively trying to learn the religion

(36:50) - Suicide is preventable