Question:
Salam. What is the ruling of cheating in exams?
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wbt,
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the many countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
This question actually has an obvious and clear answer. Cheating in exams is prohibited and sinful for it is a form of deception. The Prophet PBUH said:
وَمَنْ غَشَّنَا فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا
“And he who acted dishonestly towards us is not of us.”
Sahih Muslim (101)
Imam al-Syaukani in Nail al-Autar (5/251) said: “In another narration by Muslim, the Prophet PBUH said: “Not from among my ummah.” Imam al-Nawawi said: “It means those who do not follow my guidance (which means the Prophet PBUH), knowledge, worship and actions in accordance of my teachings, such as a man saying to his child that did something that he dislikes: “You are not from me…” Sufyan bin Uyainah disapprove this meaning stating: “This is a bad statement.” For him, it is unnecessary to define more and comments on it for it will affect us more when we make a mistake.”
According to the above explanation, it is clear to us that cheating or lying is not from the teachings of Islam. Someone who claims that he has a right to cheat in exams for he has paid for his education tuition and others, or they think that cheating in exams is trivial and should not be elaborated, in truth, this is the source of the problems in our society today, where bribery is widespread and those who are unqualified ends up in important positions.
From Abu Hurairah RA, the Prophet PBUH said:
إِذَا ضُيِّعَتِ الأَمَانَةُ فَانْتَظِرِ السَّاعَةَ قَالَ كَيْفَ إِضَاعَتُهَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ إِذَا أُسْنِدَ الأَمْرُ إِلَى غَيْرِ أَهْلِهِ فَانْتَظِرِ السَّاعَةَ
"When honesty is lost, then wait for the Hour." It was asked, "How will honesty be lost, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)?" He said, "When authority is given to those who do not deserve it, then wait for the Hour."
Sahih al-Bukhari (6496)
Cheating will also have negative effects on a personal level. A person who cheats, will damage his heart’s compass of distinguishing the good and the bad that he will feel as if he is doing good when actually he is committing bad deeds. He will also grow accustomed with the act of lying when lying is one of the attributes of the hypocrites. Furthermore, he will never be free from being dependant and be a burden to others. These are just some of the negative effects of cheating in society and a person.
May Allah SWT give us strength in eradicating the bad habit of cheating in exams in order to attain the blessings of Allah SWT in our daily lives as well as avoiding fitnah and punishment in the hereafter.
Wallahua’lam.