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Fatwa CenterHelped Classmates Cheat in High School
Question
Hello I have a question that has been troubling me for some time. In high school I have gotten good grades and I believe( Insha Allah) that I may be able to get into a good college. However, during my time in high school I have cheated before. What I mean by cheating is that I have given the answers to people when I was not supposed to. This didn’t occur on anything serious like a test (except once where it was not unintentional) , but only on simple assignments. However, I believe that the grades I earned were from my work and not other people’s work. In my school if you get caught cheating then you usually get a zero on an assignment and you’re cheating incident is put on your record. I have never been caught cheating except a few times when I willingly told the teachers of my crimes. (Note: Even if I got zeros on those assignments I still would have the same grades) I want to know if I need to tell the university I am applying to that I have helped people cheat in the past or not even though they don’t specifically ask for it. I ask this because cheating does not appear on my record even though I am guilty of helping others cheat. Should I also do this even if the university doesn’t check my record, or students’ records in general. Also, the university may be less inclined to take me if I told them that I have helped people cheat in the past. So my question is if I should tell the university of the few times I have helped people cheat or if I can just keep that information between me and Allah. I also want to know if it is permissible for me to attend this university without telling them this information even though I earned my grades through my own work. P.S. I have asked for forgiveness and will continue to do so about cheating.
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 
is His slave and Messenger.
You should seek the Forgiveness of Allah for what you had done and do not say this to the university or to anyone else.
Whoever commits a sin should screen himself with the screen with which Allah covered him (i.e., did not expose his sin to others). He should also repent to Allah by regretting what he had done and being determined not to do that again. The Prophet said: "Whoever commits any of these filthy things (sins), should conceal himself/herself with the screen of Allah [i.e. Allah did not expose him]." [Al-Haakim and Al-Bayhaqi]
As regards applying to the university, there is nothing wrong with it and what you said does not affect. Hence, just forget about this and stop giving in to whispers because giving in to whispers and doubts will turn your life into a miserable one.
For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 355567, 187023, 322810, 344767 and 358828.
Allah knows best.
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