Studying Islam by mail

6-9-2001 | IslamWeb

Question:

I am lady living in Canada and I want to take the pure Sunnah; so I decided to join American Open University to study Islam since and I know that they are close to Sunnah. My question is this way (studying by mailing) the right way or is this (Bidah) not Sunnah?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
The syllabus and curriculum followed by the American Open University are good and match the way of Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaa' (people who follow the Sunnah and stick to it). There is no harm in studying through the Internet, as this is not an innovation. In fact, the Internet is only a means to achieve some benefit so using it is not contrary to the Sunnah provided its user sticks to that which is good and avoids that which is bad.
In addition, the person who studies by correspondence through Internet or otherwise should do the work himself and avoid cheating. He should not copy the work of somebody else or have somebody do the work for him. In fact, the work he sends should be his own as cheating is unlawful. The Prophet said: "Whoever cheats us he is not one of us". [Reported by Imam Muslim].
Allah knows best.