We request clarification on the trivialization of the matter of repentance and the gravity of cheating in examinations.
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The questioner : He says: May the Shaykh be honored, I hope you will warn against the issue you mentioned, which is that if one cheats in the first and second exams, some of the weak in faith might hear this and say, "If I cheat and then repent." So I hope, may Allah guide you, that you clarify the gravity of this matter?
The Shaykh : This has settled in my heart: if I say that cheating in the first and second exams, provided the certificate is honest and one repents to Allah, I hope this will be beneficial for him. You will find that the word "I hope" does not assert with certainty that he will be safe if he cheats in the first and second exams. And I repeat that cheating is forbidden in the first and in the second. But this is a student in whom this happened, it happened to him, but he did not cheat in the certificate. He came asking, repentant to Allah. He came asking, "Is this salary permissible for me or not?" We do not downplay cheating, neither in the first nor the second nor the third. But there is a difference between a person who regretted and came repentant, and wants to make permissible the salary that was built upon this certificate, which is an honest certificate. So we say, we hope that there is no blame on him regarding what he takes of the salary. Yes.
The Shaykh : This has settled in my heart: if I say that cheating in the first and second exams, provided the certificate is honest and one repents to Allah, I hope this will be beneficial for him. You will find that the word "I hope" does not assert with certainty that he will be safe if he cheats in the first and second exams. And I repeat that cheating is forbidden in the first and in the second. But this is a student in whom this happened, it happened to him, but he did not cheat in the certificate. He came asking, repentant to Allah. He came asking, "Is this salary permissible for me or not?" We do not downplay cheating, neither in the first nor the second nor the third. But there is a difference between a person who regretted and came repentant, and wants to make permissible the salary that was built upon this certificate, which is an honest certificate. So we say, we hope that there is no blame on him regarding what he takes of the salary. Yes.