JazakAllah for your replies, but can anyone explain this answer to me:
Question:
I spoke to someone who had cheated in their degree. They want to know
whether they can now gain employment using the degree and if they do, does
it make their income haram. How should one repent over this? If the
university is notified of this it could mean that this person will never be
able to study again.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
Dishonesty and deception are clearly unlawful and considered to be amongst
the major sins; hence a Muslim should always remain distant from them. As
such, cheating in one's exams or obtaining a forged certificate for a degree
is, without doubt, unlawful (haram) and a major sin, and from which one must
always refrain.
As far as seeking employment by cheating in exams or by obtaining a forged
certificate is concerned, there are two situations here:
1) If one possesses the necessary and required credentials for a job, and
one carries out his/her job with full dedication and commitment, the income
gained on such employment would be considered lawful (halal).
The reason being is that the objective behind possessing a degree and a
certificate is that one possesses the necessary requirements to take up that
job. If one possesses these necessary requirements even without having
something to prove it, then the income cannot be termed as unlawful.
2) If one does not possess the necessary credentials and requirements to
take up a particular job, or one does not carry out the job will full
dedication and commitment, then the income would be considered unlawful
(haram).
Some contemporary scholars state that if one seeks a permissible employment
based on fake certificates, then although the income on such employment
would be Halal (provided one has the necessary credentials of doing the job,
as mentioned earlier), but one will still receive the sin of presenting
forged certificates.
Therefore, in conclusion, if you have already taken up employment based on
forged certificates, you may continue to do so and the income would be
considered Halal, provided you have the necessary requirements to take up
that job.
However, if you have, as yet, not taken up employment, you should avoid
doing so with such certificates, for presenting them would constitute lying
and deception. However, if you do (and you possess the necessary credentials
of doing that job), your income would be Halal.
And Allah knows best
Link is this:
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.a...D=4307&CATE=43
What do they mean by the 'necessary credentials'? Does it mean if I graduate as a Dr InshaAllah, that means I will have the neccessary credentials for the Job of a doctor? Or are they referring to some other sort of 'credentials', though I can't really think of any other form of credentials except for passing the degree itself.
Is the summarised message of the answer this:
No matter how you got to your degree, e.g. if you lied during the Interview, in the Personal statement, got your teacher to predict higher grades for you etc, as long as you PASS your degree and gain your certificate and GRADUATE as a doctor AND practise as a Dr with full dedication and commitment( i.e not neglecting your duties as a doctor and meeting whatever requirements there are for you as a Dr), then your income will be HALAL? The Dr is just an example of a career, but I suppose you could replace it with any career. Also, I know that it is obviously a sin to lie( in interviews, Personal statements, predicting grades etc) and we should repent to Allah SWT, but does this lying( to GET A PLACE on a Medicine course) mean my career is void and my income will be Haram?
Please can someone reassure me that everything will be OK and that I can remain motivated to study, because right now I feel as though I'm going to have to drop out of my course after almost completing my second year :(( I don't feel highly motivated to study when the validity of my future career and income seems uncertain. But according to that answer, it seems OK?? I just hope I'm thinking of the right 'credentials' the Mufti is referring to, because I can't see any other credential except passing your finals themselves and working normally as any other Doctor would?
JazakAllah, A brother in need