In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Praise be to Allaah and peace and blessings be upon
the Messenger and upon his family and companions.
The Muslim student puts his trust in Allaah when
facing the tests of this world, and he seeks His help whilst following the prescribed
means, in accordance with the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him): “The strong believer is better and is more beloved to
Allaah than the weak believer, although both are good. Strive to attain that
which will benefit you and seek the help of Allaah, and do not feel helpless.”
(
Saheeh Muslim, hadeeth no. 2664)
Among those means are the following:
Turning to Allaah by making du’aa’ in any way that
is prescribed in Islam, such as saying, “
Rabbiy ishrah li sadri wa yassir li
amri (O my Lord, expand my chest and make things easy for me).”
Getting used to sleeping early and going to exams on
time.
Preparing all required or permitted equipment such
as pens, rulers and setsquares, calculators and watches, because being well
prepared helps one to answer questions.
Reciting the du’aa’ for leaving the house: “
Bismillaah,
tawakkaltu ‘ala Allaah, wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah. Allaahumma
inni a’oodhu bika an adilla aw udalla, aw azilla aw uzalla, aw azlima aw
uzlama, aw ajhala aw yujhala ‘alayya (In the name of Allaah, I put my trust
in Allaah, and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah. O Allaah,
I seek refuge with You lest I should stray or be led astray, lest I slip
(commit a sin unintentionally) or be tripped, lest I oppress or be oppressed,
lest I behave foolishly or be treated foolishly).” Do not forget to seek your
parents’ approval, for their du’aa’ for you will be answered.
Mention the name of Allaah before you start, for
mentioning the name of Allaah is prescribed when beginning any permissible
action; this brings blessing, and seeking the help of Allaah is one of the
means of strength.
Fear Allaah with regard to your classmates, and do
not be affected by their anxiety or fear just before the exam, for anxiety is a
contagious disease. Instead, make them feel optimistic by saying good words as
prescribed in Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was optimistic when he heard the name of Suhayl (which means “easy”) and he
said: “Things have been made easy for you.” He used to like to hear the words ‘Yaa Raashid, when he went out for any purpose. So be
optimistic that you and your brothers will pass this exam.
Remembering Allaah (dhikr) dispels anxiety and
tension. If something is too difficult for you, then pray to Allaah to make it
easy for you. Whenever Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on
him) found something too difficult to understand, he would say, “O You Who
taught Ibraaheem, teach me; O You Who caused Sulaymaan to understand, cause me
to understand.”
Choose a good place to sit during the exam, if you
can. Keep your back straight, and sit on the chair in a healthy manner.
Look over the exam first. Studies advise spending
10% of the exam time in reading the questions carefully, noting the important
words and dividing one’s time between the questions.
Plan to answer the easy questions first, then the
difficult ones. Whilst reading the questions, write notes and ideas which you
can use in your answers later.
Answer questions according to importance.
Start by answering the easy questions which you
know. Then move on to the questions which carry high marks, and leave till the
end the questions to which you do not know the answers, or which you think will
take a long time to produce an answer or which do not carry such high marks.
Take your time to answer, for the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Deliberation is from Allaah
and haste is from the Shaytaan.” (A hasan hadeeth.
Saheeh al-Jaami,
3011).
Think carefully about the answer and choose the
right answer when answering multiple-choice questions. Deal with them in the
following manner. If you are sure that you have chosen the right answer, then
beware of waswasah (insinuating whispers from the Shaytaan). If you are not
sure, then start by eliminating the wrong or unlikely answers, then choose the
correct answer based on what you think is most likely to be correct. If you
guessed at a correct answer then do not change it unless you are sure that it
is wrong – especially if you will lose marks for a wrong answer. Research
indicates that the correct answer is usually that which the student thinks of
first.
In written exams, collect your thoughts before you
start to answer. Write an outline for your answer with some words which will
indicate the ideas which you want to discuss. Then number the ideas in the
sequence in which you want to present them.
Write the main points of your answer at the
beginning of the line, because this is what the examiner is looking for, and he
may not see what he is looking for if it is in the middle of the page and he is
in a hurry.
Devote 10% of the time for reviewing your answers.
Take your time in reviewing, especially in mathematical problems and writing
numbers. Resist the desire to hand in the exam papers quickly, and do not let
the fact that some people are leaving early bother you. They may be among the
people who have handed in their papers too early.
If you discover after the exam that you answered
some questions incorrectly, then take that as a lesson in the importance of
being well prepared in the future, and not rushing to answer questions. Accept
the will and decree of Allaah and do not fall prey to frustration and despair.
Remember the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), “If anything befalls you, do not say, ‘If only I had done such and such.’
Rather say, ‘Qadar Allaah wa maa sha’a kaan (the decree of Allaah and what He
wills happened),’ for saying ‘if only’ opens the door for the Shaytaan.”
(Saheeh Muslim, and the first part of this hadeeth was mentioned above).
Note that cheating is haraam whether it is in
foreign language tests or any other tests. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Whoever cheats is not one of us.” It is
wrongdoing and it is a haraam means of attaining a degree or certificate, etc.,
that you have no right to. The consensus is that cheating is a kind of
cooperation in sin and transgression. So do without that which is haraam, and
Allaah will suffice you from His bounty. Reject all offers of haraam things
that come to you from others. Whoever gives up a thing for the sake of Allaah,
Allaah will compensate him with something better. You have to denounce and resist
evil, and tell the authorities about any such thing that you see during the
exam, or before or after it. This is not the forbidden kind of slander rather
it is denouncing evil which is obligatory.
Advise those who buy or sell
questions or post them on the Internet etc., or who prepare cheat notes. Tell
them to fear Allaah, and tell them of the ruling on what they are doing and on
the money they earn from that. Tell them that the time they are spending in
preparing these haraam things, if they spent it in studying, or answering
previous exams, or helping one another to understand the subject before the
exam, that would be better for them than doing these haraam things.
Remember what you have prepared for the Hereafter,
and the questions of the examination in the grave, and how to be saved on the
Day of Resurrection. Whoever is saved from the Fire and admitted to
We ask Allaah to make us succeed in this world and
cause us to be among those who are victorious and saved in the Hereafter, for
He is the All-Hearing Who answers prayer.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid