Dishonesty or fraud

A person may have passed his exams on paper but when it comes to practice, he may fail to apply what he has learned. This may be due to lack of will or due to the matter being to his disadvantage. Neglecting something good for such reasons is reprehensible. For example, he knows that it is not permissible to consume certain food. Even on exam paper also, he may have explained it in detail and with proof, but when that dish is served to him on the table, he cannot resist. In this case, he passed his exam on merely one level, however on the practical level, he failed.

And sometimes, he is aware of something but he hesitates to declare it just because he may become unpopular and he risks being neglected by his followers and his adherents. Sometimes, he may say something, giving the impression that it is correct when he realizes that he has erred then he hesitates to retract just not to be rejected by his followers.

In all this, a good Muslim is the one who practices what he knows. He does not act against his knowledge. And he does not hesitate to retract when he acknowledges his mistake. It would be dishonesty on his behalf to persist on things that he knows he lacks in knowledge of. If an Aa'lim has this in him, it is called intellectual dishonesty and in a slightly harsher language, it is called fraud.

[English version of "Malhonnêteté ou fraude" – Al Jamiat – Vol.4 No.7]