Do I Have to Retake a Test I Cheated On?

Dear Hadi,

Dear Reader,

Thank you very much for your question. We truly appreciate your dilemma.

As we have said before, we do not give fatwas, but we will rely on some existing fatwas, and try to give you our best advice.

You did something wrong by cheating, and you are receiving a gain from that, which is that you will be able to apply to college X with the scores.

We feel that your case would likely fall under the ruling of those who have earned money in a haram way, such as bribes, usury, or even theft or prostitution. Once they have repented, what should they do with the money they gained in a haram way?  The scholars have discussed this issue.

The general opinion is that they should give that money in charity. However, the famous scholar Ibn Al Qayyim said that if the person is in need of the money, then he may take as much as he needs, and give the rest in charity.  Also, the famous scholar Ibn Taymiyyah said that if the person is poor, it is permissible to give them as much as they need of this ill-gotten wealth, so that they can start a new business or new life with a halal trade.

If you visit this fatwa website (Ill gotten money), you will see Sheik Ibn Taymiyyah is quoted as saying: “whoever repents, what he has in his hand, and which he had earned from forbidden money, is lawful for him, but it is better for him to get rid of the money which he thinks may be purely ill-gotten so he should give it to the poor and the needy, and the remaining money will be lawful for him.”

In addition, a person is not obliged to get rid of what he had bought with the money, like houses and cars, etc.

Therefore, you did something wrong, and needed that test to apply to college X.  Based on the above opinions, we do not think you need to cancel your test score, or even take that particular test again.

Why is that? In the opinion of Sheik Ibn Taymiyyah, once you have repented, and decided that you will not do this again, repentance is like embracing Islam anew, which wipes out all previous sins. In fact, he says “ordering him to give back all the money that he had earned and abandoning all of the belongings that he likes, then repentance for him will be a punishment.”

We see this principle at work in the Quran.  In surat al Baqarah, when usury (riba) is prohibited, people are told to refrain from it moving forward, but that they may keep what they have gained from it in the past – they were not asked to give that haram money back. 

“…. Whoever refrains—after having received warning from their Lord—may keep their previous gains, and their case is left to Allah. As for those who persist, it is they who will be the residents of the Fire. They will be there forever.”  (Quran 2:275)

Based on this verse and all of the above opinions, we do not think that you need to cancel your test score or even take that particular test again. It is something wrong that you did, and you got a gain from it, but you have repented.  You do not need to give that particular gain back.

The thing to do moving forward is to make that repentance sincere. The next test you take, do not cheat.

Also, if you Inshallah get into college X, you will be taking plenty of tests, and make your resolve that you will not cheat on those tests. Remember, God is most gracious and most merciful, and Inshallah your repentance from this sin is sufficient, and you do not need to do yourself harm in order to prove that you have repented sincerely. We refer you to the following verse in the Quran from surat al-Tawbah:

“Do they not know that Allah alone accepts the repentance of His servants and receives their charity, and that Allah alone is the Accepter of Repentance, Most Merciful?" (Quran 9:104).

That is our opinion, and Allah SWT knows the best. May God grant you a sincere repentance, forgiveness, and much success in your future.

In peace.