Short answer
Harming your own body is not allowed in Islam, because your body is a trust from Allah. But self-harm is almost always a way of coping with overwhelming pain, and Allah is the Most Merciful toward those who struggle. It is no reason for shame or to stay away from Him. Please get help from a doctor or counsellor, and in an emergency contact emergency services or a crisis line.
Deliberately injuring oneself without medical need is haram, since the body is an amanah (trust). The sin is forgiven through tawbah, a person acting under the pressure of illness is treated with mercy, and seeking treatment is required.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
If you have hurt yourself badly, or feel you might, contact emergency services or a crisis line in your country now, or go to the nearest emergency department. You are not in trouble, and you deserve care.
Islam teaches that your body has a right over you, and the Prophet ﷺ said there is to be no harm and no returning harm. Allah says do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction (2:195). So cutting, burning or otherwise injuring yourself is not something Islam permits. That rule exists to protect you, not to condemn you.
Self-harm is rarely a calm choice. It often comes with depression, trauma, abuse, eating disorders or feelings that seem impossible to carry, and it brings short relief from that pain. Allah knows what you are carrying, and He does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Every time you turn back to Him, He accepts you. Falling again is not the end of tawbah.
Steps that help:
- Tell a doctor, therapist or school counsellor. Treatment works, and seeking it is part of the Sunnah.
- Tell one trusted person, and agree what you will do when the urge comes.
- Look after wounds properly. A doctor can help without judging you.
- When the urge comes, delay: make wudu, step outside, call someone, or hold something cold.
Parents and friends: respond with calm and love, not anger or 'just pray more'. See suicidal thoughts and mental health in Islam.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:195
وَأَنفِقُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تُلْقُوا۟ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى ٱلتَّهْلُكَةِ ۛ وَأَحْسِنُوٓا۟ ۛ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ ﴿١٩٥﴾
And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]. And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.
Harming yourself is forbidden.
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:286
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًۭا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ ﴿٢٨٦﴾
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people."
Allah knows the weight a person carries.
Quran, Surah Az-Zumar 39:53
۞ قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ﴿٥٣﴾
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
Tawbah is always open.
Sunan Ibn Majah 2340
Graded sahih... لا ضرر ولا ضرار ...
"There is to be no harm and no returning harm."
Causing harm, including to yourself, is forbidden.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1975
Sahih... فإن لجسدك عليك حقا وإن لعينك عليك حقا ...
"Your body has a right over you, and your eyes have a right over you."
Your body is a trust with rights of its own.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Ashbah wa al-Naza'ir (Ibn Nujaym), The fifth legal maxim: harm is to be removed. The Hanafi rule that harm must be removed and not inflicted.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.