Academic Dishonesty: An Islamic Perspective
Introduction
Academic integrity is a cornerstone of any educational system. However, the rise of cheating and plagiarism among students is a growing concern. This article explores the issue of academic dishonesty, particularly in the context of Muslim students, examining the Islamic perspective on cheating, plagiarism, and deception in educational settings. It also considers the factors contributing to such behavior and emphasizes the importance of upholding ethical values in the pursuit of knowledge.
The Pervasiveness of Academic Dishonesty
The disturbing reality is that many willingly fabricate excuses to instructors regarding missed classes or incomplete assignments. This constitutes lying, which is unacceptable from both an Islamic and ethical standpoint. A growing number of students across the educational spectrum are consciously choosing to disregard academic honesty in favor of cheating their way to a degree or diploma. We live in an age of cheating and lying politicians, bestselling authors, and writers.
In an ideal world, no Muslim student would ever engage in such blatant transgressions. However, the amount of academic misconduct found among Muslim students is startling, and it alludes to an increasingly selective application of Islam. This symptom is not exclusive to academia as our community continues to pick and choose what aspects of our religion we will employ in our daily lives, and it is not uncommon to see otherwise religiously observant peers turning in their best friend’s midterm paper from last semester as their own.
Factors Contributing to Academic Dishonesty
Several factors contribute to fraud-like activities among youth. One cannot discount the impact of culture; many come from cultures and societies where cheating is not perceived as a sin, but rather as a display of wit, innovation, and an ability to beat the system. Muslims are not immune to society’s ills, and the pressure to achieve high grades has led many to engage in activities that would cause our Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) to disown such a generation well versed in how to sneak questions into the exam hall but unaware of Islam’s disdain for deception.
The Islamic Stance on Deception and Cheating
Islam demands an honest society, because it instills in us the values that dignify the character of a human. Therefore, lying and cheating are in direct contradiction with the notion that human beings are brought into this world free of fraud and deception, and as such, this precedent must be maintained throughout their lives. Lying and cheating are considered among the Greater Sins that can be committed by a Muslim and Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him) warns from associating and committing falsehood, “Falsehood is absolutely an evil and a sin.” (Greater Sins) Indeed, deception, fraud, and lying are vices known only to those individuals who do not concern themselves with the Hereafter and the true examination we will be accountable to.
Read also: Camp Scholarships Guide
Specific Examples of Academic Dishonesty
Plagiarism
According to Indiana University, plagiarism can be defined “as presenting someone else’s work, including the work of other students, as one’s own. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged, unless the information is common knowledge.” Students are required to give due credit to others for their ideas, words, illustrations, and statistics.
Cheating on Exams
The unmitigated advent of technology has only made cheating on exams easier and more enticing. In general, cheating on an examination would include but is not limited to: obtaining information and answers from other students during the exam, utilizing prohibited materials in completing your exam, and giving information to other students that is disallowed during the exam.
Deception
Many among us have no qualms falsifying excuses to our professors and teachers about why we missed class or didn’t do our homework. This is lying and is not allowed Islamically and ethically. Another example of deceiving others would be to claim we submitted an assignment that we didn’t or work with a partner on an assignment intended to be completed alone.
The Consequences of Academic Dishonesty
A degree or diploma is intended as a display of our knowledge and skills set, yet when we obtain this degree through cheating, copying, plagiarizing, and so on, we are merely demonstrating our ability to lie and fraudulently earn a degree which will provide us with income and sustenance.
Seeking Financial Assistance Ethically
The law of the land may allow you to do some things that are a form of deception and cheating, the money that comes through these things is not halaal. For example, the law in the land where I am living allows university students to take assistance from various organizations so that they can use that money to do some assignments connected to their studies. However we do not approve of a Muslim seeking help any organization when he does not really need it, because in this case his hand will be the lower one (the hand that takes). It was narrated that Hakeem ibn Hizaam said: I asked the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and he gave to me, then I asked him and he gave to me, then I asked him and he gave to me, then he said: “O Hakeem, this wealth is green and sweet (i.e., attractive); whoever takes it without asking for it, it will be blessed for him, but whoever takes it with longing, it will not be blessed for him and he will be like the one who eats and is not satisfied. Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him)said: “There is nothing wrong with them taking help and assistance from the kaafir state if that will not result in failing to do an obligatory duty or doing something haraam.
Read also: Benefits of NSHSS Scholarships
Resources for Further Understanding
Ahmad Atif Ahmad’s Pitfalls of Scholarship: Lessons from Islamic Studies (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) is a unique reflection on the field of Islamic studies. It is not quite a memoir, although it is reflective of Islamic studies, academia, and higher education in general. It is also not quite a book of theory, although it offers several deep readings of various figures in the Muslim intellectual canon. Rather, it is a collection of essays. Chapter 1, for example is a rumination the humanities and its place in the modern academy. Ahmad then goes on to concept of academic frustration. He builds on this in the third chapter by examining the iconic Muslim intellectual al-Ghazali. The final chapter ties the wider world into the academy and considers themes of nationalism and democracy.
Ahmad Atif Ahmad is professor of religious studies at the University of California in Santa Barbara (UCSB). He also serves on UCSB’s 'Council on Faculty Issues and Awards' and the UC-System wide Academic Advisory Committee for Internship Programs in the University Center in Washington, DC. He previously served as associate director of the University of California Center in Washington, Sultan Qaboos Chair of Mideast Studies at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and as visiting associate professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Nadirah Mansour is a graduate student at Princeton University’s Department of Near Eastern Studies working on the global intellectual history of the Arabic-language press. Nadirah Mansour is a graduate student at Princeton University's Department of Near Eastern Studies working on the global intellectual history of the Arabic-language press.
Read also: Scholarship Guide
tags: #lying #for #scholarships #islam
