Exam tips

['Aleena]

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.”


- 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.

- 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 Paradise will indeed have succeeded.



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

All the best!!!

[abdussattar]

Jazakallah.



How did you know that my exams are going on?(today was my first exam):phew

['Aleena]

REVISING + EXAMS = HEADACHE?

It needn’t be the case, just follow the directions to achieve great results every time, Insha’Allah.

Always, always, always begin with Bismillah.
Examine your niyaah (intention) and correct it if necessary.
Honour your teachers no matter how strange their teaching methods seem to you. Respect and reverence for teachers are amongst the distinguishing marks of being a Muslim student.
Begin making preparations well before the examinations begin. Plan out a REALISTIC timetable that will result in you having covered (or at least scanned) all the material well before your first exam. Use this final period to look at and attempt past exam papers and to compensate for any unforeseen delays.
Use your teachers. If you have a problem, ASK!! You will find the vast majority of teachers only to happy too help (and inadvertently give out many heavy hints as to what’s on exam paper!)
Always revise with a sheet of paper at hand so that you can build up a list of topics which you want to discuss with your teachers. DON’T rely on your memory. If you do, you will only be reminded when you are in the exam hall trying to answer a question on your forgotten queries.
When revising make notes. It may seem as though you are just reproducing your notes, but persevere, believe it or not what you are doing is one of the most effective ways of revising.
Give yourself regular breaks, but make sure that they don’t go on for longer than intended.
Make sure you are unlikely to be disturbed whilst studying. This means turning off the TV and asking others to answer the phone. Discipline is pivotal to success.
Turn off the radio. Listening to haram music takes the barakah (blessings) out of your studies. If you absolutely must listen to something try some nasheeds (Islamic Songs)
Always iron out problems as soon as possible. If you don’t then you may well encounter problems when trying to understand the work that comes later.
If you are getting frustrated and feel as though you are getting nowhere then try to take comfort that from the saying of the Prophet: “For him who embarks on a path of seeking knowledge, Allah will ease for him the way to Paradise.” (Muslim).
If you are having problems calming your nerves on exam day, remind yourself of the ultimate purpose of life and indeed the ultimate examination; before Allah (SWT) on the Day of Judgement. This should help you to put your present worries into context.
Before you begin on the exam paper, take a couple of minutes out to supplicate to your Lord, asking Him to grant you success only on the condition that it’s good for your deen and patience in the event that it’s not. Then begin in the name of Allah.
As you come out of the exam hall, remember to thank Allah if the exam went well. If however it didn’t go as well as you had hoped, put your trust in Him. Know that such things are sent to test us and are an opportunity for us to shed some of our sins and show our contentment with his divine decree.
Extracted from: ‘TRENDS’ magazine
courtesy of the Deen

Source: Haqislam.org

['Aleena]

How did you know that my exams are going on?(today was my first exam)

Welcome the 'season of exams' :)

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[Islam<3]

1. Gather and Plug.
   Spend 20 minutes on each course. Gather together all the material you need to review. This might require printing your notes off your computer. If there are any holes in this material — a missed lecture or, perhaps, an important reading you didn’t get to — make plans in the immediate future to plug the gaps.
2. Construct Battle Plans.
   Once you fill the gaps you’ll be left with complete collections of information to review for each course. Spend some time to come up with a review battle plan for each of these piles. These plans should consist of — and only of — specific review actions with well-defined endpoints. I can’t stress the latter part enough. I don’t want to hear about you blindly flipping through your book for hours. You need to specify exactly how you are going to review and how you’ll know when you’re done.
3. Take a Break.
   If you don’t have time to step away for a day or two, then you started too late. You need time to clear your head before the next step.
4. Make Your Plans Less Dumb.
   Look back at your battle plans with a fresh eye. Ask yourself: where can I make this more efficient? Most likely, you’ll find several strategies that are redundant or could be replaced with something more streamlined. It’s easy, in the heat of the pre-exam moment, to get overzealous with your planning. Always assume things will take longer and your schedule will be tighter. Be prepared by cutting, cutting, and then cutting.
5. Schedule Your Battle Plans Using the Two Day Rule.
   Assign the different pieces of your battle plans to specific days leading up to the exams. When doing so, I suggest the following simple rule which, if followed, will provide a significant stress reduction: schedule each battle plan to finish two days before the relevant exam. There is something magical about never having to study the day before the test. It’s like a whole different (relaxed) experience. I know, I know, you’re probably saying right now: “I can’t finish a day early! I’m such a wild and crazy procrastinator!” Sigh. Here’s my response: “Man up.” You’re not starring in a National Lampoon movie. No one is impressed that you can put off work.)
6. Execute.
   Notice I’m avoiding the “s”-word here. “Studying” is for pseudo-working grinds. You’re executing a specific plan custom-designed to minimize time and stress. Bonus: Kelly over at hack collage will pound one beer for every time you work the phrase “I’m executing a specific plan custom-designed to minimize time and stress” into casual conversation with an attractive member of the opposite sex.

[Yanal]

:sl:

Good tips,before you know it exams will be returning..:skeleton:

[Muslimman]

Good piece of advice. Anyone has the same for interviews? That will be a good topic too :)

[Sawdah]

Nice tips, mashaAllah. JazakumAllah Khair.