Islam and other divine religions— in addition to protecting the rights and the freedom of others, indicating that a person cannot violate the rights of others on the pretext of being free— also specify that a person cannot and does not have the right to violate their own individual rights and wellbeing over the excuse that they are free. People are not allowed to use their freedom to harm themselves.
Thus, harming oneself is forbidden in Islam; suicide is prohibited. According to the Islamic thought, no one can say 'I am free, so I destroy my properties, destroy my life, or harm myself'. People are obligated to avoid threatening their own freedom, dues, and rights, just as they are obligated to avoid limiting or threatening the rights and freedom of others by their movements, actions, behaviors, and words.
This is the big difference between freedom in Islam and freedom in other schools of thoughts and human cultures. Hence, in Islam, suffering is not allowed; that is, undergoing oppression is forbidden even done by oneself. In Islam, not performing the obligatory deeds and not going through the path of perfection is haram.
In Islam, it is even haram to prevent one's talents from flourishing, even though it may not affect other people. Suicide and self-harm are forbidden. So a person cannot say I am free to restrict my own freedom, or let others control me, or undergo oppression and invasion, or not to develop my soul and heart.
An important point is that it is a personal matter if a person violates their own rights and does self-harm; that is to say, no government or system of law has the right to force, or prosecute a person about his own rights and his choice of self-harming, as long as it does not affect the society in any way. Hence, as far as a person harms only themselves, Islam forbids investigation, follow-up and revelation. Some of the acts that the sacred Sharia [law] of Islam prohibits would damage the society only when committed openly in the society. If it is not committed openly, it is still harmful, but only to the person who does it, not to others. In this case, Islam does not require us to investigate, to find out if a person commits a wrong act in private. The people are not required to investigate the wrong actions of others, as far as the wrongdoing affects only that person. However, it is a divine duty for that person and God will punish them. Safeguarding oneself and one's rights is an obligation (wajib). The Quran says to the people or the believers: "Believers, save yourselves and your families from the fire {Quran; 66:6}!". Save your life, your soul, and also your family, that is, those who are influenced by you, don't let them burn in the fire of the hell. Don't let them be punished by God. Believers, save your own souls, for if you have the right guidance, no one who strays can harm you {Quran; 5:105}." You are obliged to save your own souls.
When it is related to the society, the law, the government, the executive sections, the judicial sections, must be vigilant and punish or prohibit the committers according to the laws. But when it only harms the person themselves, the law has no responsibility. Still, the Muslim person is not free to harm themselves according to Islam. He is not allowed to destroy his rights. This is the big difference between freedom in Islam and freedom in Western culture.
Comment