Suicide to Escape Rape

Suicide to Escape Rape
Question
Scholars of Islam, As-Salamu `Alaykum wa Rahamtu Allah wa Barakatuh. Can a Muslim woman kill herself if she is 100% sure that she will be raped by a group of men? Jazakum Allah khayran. ( Question Nabil - Lebanon )

Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother in Islam, thank you very much for having confidence in us and we pray to Allah Almighty to help us achieve this noble task successfully. Also, we commend your concern about the affairs of your fellow sisters. May Allah protect our honor and save us against all forms of disgrace!

First of all, a Muslim woman should try her best to stick to the teachings of Islam and abide by the Islamic decorum, especially when dealing with people of the opposite sex. If she is sexually harassed by the rapists, she has the right to defend herself.

However, she is not allowed to kill herself under any circumstances because suicide is Haram (prohibited). The only One Who knows the Unseen is Allah. She never knows what will be the outcome of their criminal attempt; they may fail in carrying out their devilish plan.

Explaining this we'd like to state that a Muslim woman is faced with two possibilities:
(1) She is prone to being subjected to rape or sexual assault and
(2) this may drive her to committing suicide, a forbidden act. Here we can imagine the occurrence of two harms, one of them, relating to suicide, is certain, while the other, relating to her being subjected to rape, is something possible, but not certain. Thus, in this case, committing suicide is not permissible.

Moreover, we have to weigh the harmful effect of suicide to that of rape or sexual assault. The latter is endurable unlike the former. Besides, preserving one’s soul is among the necessities of life, whereas other objectives, such as preserving one’s chastity, come in the second degree among the fundamental goals that Islam is keen to realize. Thereby, it is not permissible for a woman, a victim of rape, to commit suicide.

Focusing on the question in point, the prominent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Muhammad Saleh Al-Munajjid, a Saudi Islamic lecturer and author, states:

“A woman who is forced to commit Zina (adultery or fornication) is obliged to defend herself and should not give in, even if she kills the one who wants to rape her. Self-defense is obligatory, and she is not at fault if she kills the one who wants to force her into having sex.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said: “Whoever is killed in defense of his property is a martyr, whoever is killed in defense of himself is a martyr, whoever is killed in defense of his religion is a martyr, and whoever is killed in defense of his family is a martyr.” (Reported by Imam Ahmad and Ibn Hibban)

In addition, a woman is not allowed to kill herself for fear of being raped. A chaste Muslim woman is required to fend off the aggressor, but she is not allowed to go to the extreme and kill herself. If she kills herself, then she has committed suicide which is Haram.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said: “The people of my Ummah are not responsible for acts that they commit wrongfully, for acts that they do forgetfully, and for acts which they are forced beyond their abilities.” Allah Almighty says, “…save him who is forced thereto and whose heart is still content with Faith…” (An-Nahl: 106)”