Getting help from people or books in take-home tests

24-4-2006 | IslamWeb

Question:

I want to know if I get a take home test from high school, can I ask someone for help or use help from a book, etc.? Is that Haraam? Also, I have gotten take home tests before from my economics class and I have used help, do I tell my teacher, or do I just make Tawbah to Allaah and not do it again?
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

 

If the school conditions that a student should not make use of books or get help from other people in these tests, then it is not permissible for you to do so, because this is cheating and it is forbidden to cheat as clarified in Fatwa 81709, so please refer to it.

The fact that the school is not strict on supervision does not justify cheating, and hence you should repent to Allaah and inform the school about what you did in order to put your mind at ease.

Nonetheless, if the school permits this, and allows the students to check the answers by any means, then there is no harm in doing so, and you are not sinful in this case, but this is very unlikely. 

Allaah Knows best.

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