By Brig Syed Karrar Hussain Retired
Every year on 10 September, the world observes World Suicide Prevention Day. It is a solemn reminder that suicide — a sudden, permanent end to a life — is a preventable public-health tragedy that leaves families, friends, and whole communities shattered. On this day we must ask uncomfortable questions, face painful facts and, most importantly, translate compassion into action: by government policy, by community support, by family care and by helping individuals in crisis find a path back to hope.
Why do people take their own lives
Suicide is never caused by a single factor. It is the end point of an interaction among multiple vulnerabilities and stresses that overwhelm a person’s capacity to cope. Major contributors are:
Mental illness. Depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and substance-use disorders are strongly associated with suicidal behaviour. A prior suicide attempt is the single strongest predictor of future suicide.
Acute crises. Financial collapse, unemployment, relationship breakdown, humiliation, sudden loss (death of a loved one), or criminal/legal problems can precipitate a suicidal crisis in people already vulnerable.
Chronic stressors. Long-term illness, chronic pain, social isolation, disability, or prolonged caregiving responsibilities erode resilience.
Access to lethal means. The easy availability of pesticides, firearms, or high buildings increases the lethality of suicide attempts. Means restriction has one of the clearest records as an evidence-based prevention measure.
Cultural and social factors. Stigma discourages help-seeking, punitive legal systems that criminalize attempted suicide, or social norms that treat mental distress as shameful reduce the likelihood that suffering people will get help.
Importantly, for many people suicidal thoughts are time-limited if they receive timely help: listening without judgment, removing access to lethal means, rapid mental-health care, and short-term crisis support can and do save lives.
The last two years — how many, where, and trends
Reliable global counting of suicides is difficult: reporting practices vary, many countries under-report because of stigma and legal issues, and some deaths are misclassified. Nonetheless, international estimates give a clear picture of scale and patterns.
According to the World Health Organization’s most recent reporting, roughly 720–740 thousand people die by suicide every year (WHO global health estimates for 2021 and summaries updated in 2024–2025). Suicide remains among the top three causes of death for people aged 15–29. The majority of suicides (around 70–75%) occur in low – and middle-income countries.
Which countries have the largest absolute numbers? Because suicide counts are influenced by population size, India and China — two of the world’s most populous nations — account for a very large share of global suicide deaths historically. Global Burden of Disease analyses and WHO reporting show that India and China together have constituted a substantial portion of global suicides in recent reporting years (GBD 1990–2021 analyses and WHO summaries). This means in absolute numbers the highest counts are concentrated in those large countries, even when age-standardized rates may be higher elsewhere.
At the other extreme, countries with very small populations naturally have small absolute numbers of suicide deaths; but reported low counts can also reflect under-reporting, legal stigma, or poor death-registration systems. Comparing countries by rate (deaths per 100,000) rather than absolute counts gives a better sense of population risk: some small or specific countries in Southern Africa and Eastern Europe have among the highest suicide rates, while many Asian countries report lower rates — though under-reporting remains a concern.
Pakistan’s situation (last two years)
Pakistan does not yet publish a complete, reliable national suicide registry that is visible to international databases in the same way some other countries do; official figures are limited and under-reporting is common because of social stigma and previous legal penalties. However, several local studies, media investigations, and expert commentary indicate a rising trend. Pakistani reporting in 2023–2024 and expert commentaries (including media coverage around World Suicide Prevention Day 2024) showed increases in estimated suicide rates compared with earlier years, and the decriminalization of attempted suicide in 2022 was intended to reduce barriers to help-seeking. Some analyses and academic estimates have placed the suicide rate in recent years in the mid-to-high single digits per 100,000, with nuanced regional and age-group differences (youth and women in certain settings being particularly vulnerable). Due to incomplete national reporting, the exact absolute numbers remain uncertain and likely undercounted — a problem that must be addressed by better registration and open discussion.
Bottom line: globally the burden remains huge (over seven hundred thousand deaths annually by recent WHO/GBD estimates); India and China account for the largest absolute numbers; Pakistan is reporting worrying increases and suffers from under-reporting and stigma that hide the true scale.
Islamic teaching: what Islam says about suicide
In Islam, life is sacred, and suicide is explicitly forbidden. The Qur’an warns believers not to kill themselves: “O you who believe! Do not kill yourselves; surely Allah is Most Merciful to you” (Surah An-Nisa 4:29). Classical and contemporary Muslim scholars interpret this verse to include suicide and to emphasize both the sanctity of life and the duty to preserve it.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) spoke strongly against taking one’s own life. Authentic hadith collections record that the Prophet said that those who kill themselves will face severe spiritual consequences (for example, hadiths recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim describing punishment for those who take their own lives). These teachings have traditionally been used in Muslim communities to counsel people away from self-harm and motivate communities to protect vulnerable members. At the same time, many contemporary Islamic scholars emphasise compassion: people who attempt suicide are not to be shamed but offered care since mental illness and despair can impair responsibility.
The religious position, therefore, combines a clear ethical prohibition with a pastoral imperative: to prevent suicide and to care for those in distress.
Preventing suicide — who must act and how
Suicide prevention requires actions at every level: state policy, health systems, communities, families, and individuals. Evidence shows that coordinated efforts save lives.
1. Government and public health systems
National suicide prevention strategy. A funded, multi-sectoral plan with targets, monitoring, and public reporting is essential. Such plans should include mental-health workforce development, crisis care, and school- and workplace-based programmes.
Improve data and de-criminalize help-seeking. Reliable death registration and routine reporting to WHO allow targeted responses. Decriminalizing attempted suicide — as Pakistan has taken steps to do — reduces fear of punishment and encourages people to seek help.
Restrict access to lethal means. Bans or safe storage requirements for pesticides, tighter firearm controls, and barriers on bridges have demonstrably reduced suicide deaths in many settings.
Fund crisis lines and community mental-health services. 24/7 helplines, trained first-responders, and community outreach (particularly to youth and rural areas) are cost-effective.
2. Society and communities
Reduce stigma through public education. Honest public conversations, faith-community engagement, and media guidelines for safe reporting reduce contagion and encourage help-seeking.
Schools and workplaces. Training teachers and managers to recognise warning signs, providing referral pathways, and offering counselling must be routine. Youth-targeted interventions are crucial since suicide is a leading cause of death in young people.
Faith and community leaders. In Muslim societies, imams and community elders can be powerful allies — preaching compassion, correcting misconceptions about religious law on suicide, and directing people to help. Islamic teaching that forbids suicide should be paired with practical steps to offer care rather than condemnation.
3. Families
Take warning signs seriously. Changes in sleep, appetite, withdrawal, talk of hopelessness, giving away prized possessions, or direct mentions of wanting to die require immediate, compassionate attention.
Remove easy access to lethal means at home. Lock up medications, pesticides, and firearms. This simple step buys time and often prevents impulsive, lethal attempts.
Open supportive dialogue. Listen without judgment, avoid minimising feelings, and help the person to access professional care or crisis services. Families should not threaten or shame — that increases isolation.
4. The individual in crisis
Reach out. Speak to a trusted person, contact a crisis helpline, or seek the nearest emergency or mental health service. Asking for help is a sign of strength and a crucial step.
Crisis safety planning. Create a written plan with warning signs, coping strategies, contacts, and ways to make the immediate environment safer (e.g., remove means). Evidence supports brief safety-planning interventions in emergency settings.
If you are worried someone may be about to act, do not leave them alone. Get immediate help: call emergency services or a crisis line.
What Pakistan (and similar countries) should prioritise now
1. Establish a transparent national suicide surveillance system and publish age – and sex-disaggregated data annually. Good data drives good policy.
2. Scale community mental-health services and integrate basic mental-health care into primary-health clinics so people can get help where they live.
3. National helpline(s) staffed 24/7 in local languages, linked to regional referral centres.
4. Means-restriction campaigns (safe pesticide storage in rural communities, firearms safety measures, physical barriers at high-risk sites).
5. Partner with religious and community leaders to frame suicide prevention as both a medical and moral duty: protect life, reduce stigma, and guide people to help.
Conclusion — a practical, compassionate faith of action
World Suicide Prevention Day is more than a date on the calendar: it is a demand to act. The humane, faith-based teaching against suicide — “do not kill yourselves” — must be translated into concrete compassion: listening without judgment, removing lethal means, building accessible services, and changing laws that punish suffering. Globally, hundreds of thousands die every year; locally, families bear the private cost of silence. We can reduce that toll if states invest in mental health, communities refuse stigma, families watch over each other, and individuals in distress are met with care, not condemnation.
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide right now, please seek immediate help — call local emergency services, a trusted health professional, or a crisis helpline. No one should face this alone.
