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Fatwa CenterCertificate received after cheating in final exam
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. Earlier, I send in a question about cheating in exams. I wanted to know: if a person has studied at a training program in college and cheated only in the the last course/exam and then received a degree certificate, is it then sinful to present this degree when applying for a job? You reffered me to fatwa No. 314146, where you referred to Shaykh Ibn baaz's answer about cheating and the salary. You wrote that he said that the salary would be lawful, but what does Ibn Baaz say about presenting a degree certificate where some cheating has took place? Is it deceptive to present such a certificate, even if the person did not cheat in the rest of the courses? Is it like saying that you have something which you do not actually have, by just presenting it?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
We could not find any statement by Shaykh Ibn Baaz 
in this regard. We believe that the correct view – and Allah knows best – is that if someone obtains a certificate through cheating in the final exam such that he would not have obtained it if he had not cheated, then it is considered a forged certificate and he is not qualified for the job that requires that certificate. In this case, it is impermissible for him to apply for this job. If he applies with this certificate, then he is like one saying that he has something which he does not have.
However, if he has benefited from his studies (which qualify the person for that certificate) and acquired the knowledge that qualifies him to perform that job as required, then it is permissible for him to apply for this job with that certificate. In this case, he is not considered like one saying that he has something which he does not have.
For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 314146.
Allah knows best.
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