Is it permissible for a student to help his classmate during an exam, given that the student considers it obligatory upon him and a relief for his classmate's distress, and what is the ruling on this?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : This is a question in which the questioner asks: Is it permissible for a student to help his classmate during an exam, given that the student considers it obligatory upon him and a relief for his classmate's distress? What is the ruling on this? May you be rewarded.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for a student to help his classmate in an exam, ever, because that is a betrayal of trust. The responsible authorities do not approve of it, and in reality, it is injustice to the student being helped and injustice to the student doing the helping, a crime against the responsible authority under whose care he is, and a crime against the entire Ummah.
As for it being injustice to the student being helped, it is because we have helped him in a matter that is forbidden for him, which is cheating. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1315Sahih (Darussalam).
As for it being injustice to the one doing the helping, it is because he has wronged himself through disobedience, as he has assisted in a sin, and the one who assists in a sin is like the one who commits it. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who gives it, the two witnesses, and the scribe, and he said:. This indicates that the one who assists in a sin is like the one who commits it.
As for it being a betrayal of the responsible authority under whose care he is, it is because the responsible authority does not approve of this at all. For this reason, they place supervisors and observers over the students during the exam.
As for it being a betrayal of the entire Ummah, it is because if the level of the Ummah's students is like this, that is, cheating and ignorance, then that leads to the destruction of the Ummah, and the Ummah remains in need of others always and forever. Because these graduates who graduated through cheating do not know; they are actually ignorant. So the Ummah remains in the form of a learned people, but in reality, it is ignorant. Thus, that is a betrayal of the entire Ummah and destruction of society.
So my advice to my brother students is to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in this matter and not to help one another in the exam. And if he wants to convey to his brother some knowledge regarding this issue, then let him teach him after the papers are submitted, because the time is not lost.
Likewise, I advise our brother supervisors who observe the students to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and not to be affected by the blame of a blamer in the sake of Allah. They should not favor a rich person because of his wealth, nor a poor person because of his poverty, nor a weak person because of his weakness, nor a strong person because of his strength. They must observe with the most complete observation and dedicate their efforts in hearing, seeing, and thinking. They should not be preoccupied with talking to one another during the observation and supervision, because they are accountable for that before Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then before the state, then before the Ummah. So they should not be negligent in this trust that has been placed upon them. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for a student to help his classmate in an exam, ever, because that is a betrayal of trust. The responsible authorities do not approve of it, and in reality, it is injustice to the student being helped and injustice to the student doing the helping, a crime against the responsible authority under whose care he is, and a crime against the entire Ummah.
As for it being injustice to the student being helped, it is because we have helped him in a matter that is forbidden for him, which is cheating. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever cheats, he is not one of us.
من غش فليس مناAs for it being injustice to the one doing the helping, it is because he has wronged himself through disobedience, as he has assisted in a sin, and the one who assists in a sin is like the one who commits it. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who gives it, the two witnesses, and the scribe, and he said:
They are all the same.
هم سواءAs for it being a betrayal of the responsible authority under whose care he is, it is because the responsible authority does not approve of this at all. For this reason, they place supervisors and observers over the students during the exam.
As for it being a betrayal of the entire Ummah, it is because if the level of the Ummah's students is like this, that is, cheating and ignorance, then that leads to the destruction of the Ummah, and the Ummah remains in need of others always and forever. Because these graduates who graduated through cheating do not know; they are actually ignorant. So the Ummah remains in the form of a learned people, but in reality, it is ignorant. Thus, that is a betrayal of the entire Ummah and destruction of society.
So my advice to my brother students is to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in this matter and not to help one another in the exam. And if he wants to convey to his brother some knowledge regarding this issue, then let him teach him after the papers are submitted, because the time is not lost.
Likewise, I advise our brother supervisors who observe the students to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and not to be affected by the blame of a blamer in the sake of Allah. They should not favor a rich person because of his wealth, nor a poor person because of his poverty, nor a weak person because of his weakness, nor a strong person because of his strength. They must observe with the most complete observation and dedicate their efforts in hearing, seeing, and thinking. They should not be preoccupied with talking to one another during the observation and supervision, because they are accountable for that before Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then before the state, then before the Ummah. So they should not be negligent in this trust that has been placed upon them. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.