akhlāq-i pizishkī i.e., Medical Ethics

Abstract

Among most ancient philosophers and philosophical schools there is a consensus on the abhorrence of suicide. Religious people regard suicide as abominable, while in the view of Islamic jurisprudents (Foghaha) suicide is absolutely prohibited, be it as a voluntary act or out of necessity, for instance in case of unbearable illness. In the writings of the Islamic jurisprudents we do not find this problem as a separate, specific theme, probably because the love to live is seen as an innate and necessary anthropological element, whereas killing oneself is an exceptional and abnormal phenomenon and was especially rare in ancient times. But considering the following reasons, to develop an Islamic concept of suicide seems to be of utmost necessity: psychic pressures resulting from modern life in the past few centuries; medical advances in healing painful diseases and in the development of pain relievers, and also in view of the emergence of nihilistic philosophical schools.