Islamic marriage advice and family advice

Can I cheat on tests? School doesn’t matter anyways.

teenage teacher student

Hi,

I understand that cheating is impermissible in our great religion, but I want to know what to do in my case. I am in school, but in my opinion, school does not matter. I am just here in school so that I can go to college then get a job and support a family. All of the stuff that I am taught here I end up forgetting right after, and anyways school is not something that I really learn from. I just want good grades so I can be in a good college and then get a good job to support a family.

Which brings me to my point. I want to look online for answers during tests and homework because school doesn’t matter and I’m not going to learn the material anyway even if I try. The system for school is just to shove as much information into a head as possible, then give us a test, and then we forget the information right after.

So, can I look at answers on the Internet during homework and tests since I won’t learn anything either way? By the way, it is not an Islamic school, just a normal American school. I am doing it virtually this year because of the Coronavirus.

What do you think?

Kareem


Tagged as: , , , ,

9 Responses »

  1. Kareem,
    No, you should not cheat. (I teach at a "normal" American public high school.) The information that you learn in high school will benefit you. You mentioned that you wanted to go to college, so are you planning on cheating there too? I think you should decide what you want to do for a living. Then research it to find out what is required to secure a job in that field. You might realize that courses that you think are not important now might be an essential component for your future career. Ask yourself this question, would I want a doctor operating on my family member who cheated in school? (electrician, firefighter, architect, etc. all can be used in this scenario.) My point is that professionals are paid for their knowledge in specific areas. When a person cheats, they have no knowledge in those areas, and therefore, they should not get paid the same as someone who does have that knowledge.If you genuinely hate being a student, find a job that does not need a traditional B.S. degree. Trade school is an option Elevator Installer/repairer-$84,000, Web Developer-$73,000, and Dental Hygienist-$76,000 all make enough to support a family. Just don't cheat, Allah (SWT) sees everything and your teacher might catch you.
    Salaams
    (and go study something)

  2. Dear Brother,

    I totally agree with Zgirl. School absolutely matters, for all the reasons she specified. Also, if you don't use your brain, you could develop deficits in some areas and then never be able to catch up later in life. Just like if you stop using your legs, you would lose all the muscle and then not be able to use them even when you want to.

    So as "popular" as it is these days for students to say that school doesn't teach us the skills we need in life, it absolutely gives us the building blocks we need. Imagine that you never learned to type properly, and then someone hands you a computer 20 years later. You wouldn't know how to use it efficiently!

    So please take school and your studies seriously. Everything has a purpose, and no amount of effort is lost on Allah. He sees all and will reward you for all your hard work.

    Best,

    Nor
    IslamicAnswers

  3. Well

    Western school education serves no purpose in life. They are their to make you sheep and slave. This worldly education matters least, whats important is Islamic education. For example, can these teachers here, do not teach about darwin theory or sex education at school if they don't want?

    You can see the above replies which are based on a narrrow thought process that good grades means good salary.. Majority of doctors and other professionals are there for money rather to serve. Because its all about grades. Western world doesn't offer honesty.. So just don't care about them, high school education is of no intellectual importance.

    So feel free and make sure to get good grades, by hook or crook.

    • Nobel, ugh, this is terrible advice. I agree with you that some of the things taught in Western schools conflict with Islam. But cheating is not the solution.

      And by the way, sex education is not sinful. It depends on the approach. My daughter attended an Islamic school and even they had a sex education class in 7th grade.

      Furthermore, while Islamic education is important, worldly education is necessary too. The Prophet (sws) and all the sahabah worked for a living. How does one expect to do a job without training today?

      Wael
      IslamicAnswers.com Editor

    • Nobel: You can see the above replies which are based on a narrow thought process that good grades means good salary.. Majority of doctors and other professionals are there for money rather to serve. Because its all about grades. Western world doesn't offer honesty.

      Good grade means one studied hard and tried to learn about different subjects? Do you or your relatives work? Do you guys do it for money or do it just to serve? So which countries offer honesty?

  4. Cheating on tests is same as stealing. Anything widely considered illegal or immoral is automatically HARAM, unless there are evidences of HALAL. You can't choose to stop at a red light, and claim it's not in the Quran.

  5. Salam.

    I would suggest that you go to school with the intention of "learning how to learn", and "learning how to work hard even when you don't like the subject".
    the information is not that important, but the skill to learn something, to listen to information, to understand it, to summarize it, to write it down, and to communicate it with other people. This skill worth your whole time in school, because you will use it your whole life, no matter what job or business you're doing.

  6. you just fixed my whole perspective on school. thank you so much. i really needed this.
    may allah help us all. ameen.

Leave a Response