What is the ruling on cheating in an exam?
Short answer
Cheating in examinations is prohibited. It is a form of deception and betrayal that Islamic teachings forbid, and a student must complete assigned work honestly.
Evidence and explanation
The source cites the Prophetic warning against cheating and explains that examination cheating is prohibited because it involves dishonesty and harmful consequences.
Scholar referenced
This editorial summary is based on the original source linked below and is not presented as a verbatim quotation from the scholar.
From the text of the answer (Arabic, with an English translation)
Original answer — Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz
حكم الغش في الامتحان — فتوى ١٩٦٨٣- Question
«ما حكم الغش في أوقات الامتحان، علمًا بأني أرى كثيرًا من الطلبة يغشون، وأنصح لهم، لكنهم يقولون: ليس في ذلك شيء؟ أفيدوني -جزاكم الله خيرًا-. والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته.»
English translation (unreviewed): What is the ruling on cheating at exam times? I see many students cheating and I advise them, but they say: there is nothing wrong with that. Advise me, may Allah reward you. Peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.
- From the text of the answer
«الغش في الامتحان وفي العبادات وفي المعاملات محرم؛ لقول النبي ﷺ: من غشنا فليس منا ، ولما يترتب عليه من الأضرار الكثيرة في الدنيا والآخرة؛ فالواجب الحذر منه والتواصي بتركه [١] . نشر في كتاب (فتاوى إسلامية) للشيخ/ محمد المسند، ج٤، ص: ٣٣٠، وفي (كتاب الدعوة)، ج١، ص: ١٥٧.»
English translation (unreviewed): Cheating in exams, in acts of worship and in transactions is forbidden, because of the Prophet's ﷺ saying: “Whoever cheats us is not one of us”, and because of the many harms it entails in this world and the next. So one must beware of it and urge one another to abandon it [1]. Published in the book Fatawa Islamiyyah by Shaykh Muhammad al-Musnad, vol. 4, p. 330, and in Kitab al-Da'wah, vol. 1, p. 157.
The Arabic excerpts matched the original page word for word by an automated check and have not had human scholarly review. The English translations are unreviewed translations made for this site; they are not an approved Shari‘ah translation. Rely on the Arabic original.
Source
Ruling on cheating in examinations
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him