بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
• Be mindful of Allah at all times, where ever you may be, and fear Him. It is not appropriate for you to consciously disobey your Lord but then expect Him to fulfil all your requests during your times of need.
• Be grateful. Allah says,
لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
“If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in everything].” (Qur’ān 7:14)
• If you have an act of worship you're regular with (e.g. praying ‘Ishā’ in the masjid, reading Qur’ān for 30 minutes a day), don't give it up for exam study. You only succeed in your exams through the assistance of Allah, so what makes you think that prioritising study over His worship will get you over the line?
• Before sleeping, say Subḥān Allāh (How perfect Allah is!) 33x, al-Ḥamdu lillāh (Praise and thanks be to Allah!) 33x and Allāhu akbar (Allah is greatest!) 34x.
• Sleep early, and make sure you wake up for and pray Fajr, as well as the two sunnah rak‘ahs before it.
• Have a good, healthy, halal breakfast.
• Recite the dhikr for leaving the house:
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ
Bismillāh, tawakkaltu ‘ala Llāh, wa lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh.
(In the name of Allah. I put my trust in Allah. There is no strength nor power except with Allah.)
• Don't forget to ask for your parents' du‘ā’, for their du‘ā’ for you is of great chance of being accepted.
• Offer at least two rak‘ahs (preferably, at least six rak‘ahs) of Ṣalāt al-Duḥā in the morning (from 7:30 a.m. onwards is a good time). Follow this up with sincere du‘ā’ to Allah, seeking His Help and Assistance.
• Be positive!
In the Exam Hall
• Do your exams in a state of wuḍū’.
• Begin with Bismillāh, for mentioning the name of Allah before any [permissible] action brings about blessing in it.
• Put in 100% effort, while at the same time placing your trust in Allah that He will bring your efforts to fruition. As the ḥadīth goes, “Strive to attain that which will benefit you and seek the help of Allah, and do not feel helpless.” (Narrated by Muslim)
• Remembering Allah (dhikr) dispels anxiety and tension. If something is too difficult for you, ask to Allah to make it easy for you.
• If you forget something during the exam, send ṣalawāt (prayers of blessing and mercy) upon the Prophet (ﷺ), for in sending ṣalawāt upon him lies a secret by which Allah aids the slave who does so. As the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Whoever ever sends ṣalawāt upon me once, Allah sends ṣalawāt upon him ten times.” (Narrated by Muslim) This can be done by saying, for example, “Allāhumma ṣalli ‘alā Muḥammad” (more complete versions are mentioned towards the bottom).
• Don't rush when answering, for the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “To take time is from Allah, and to be hasty is from the Shayṭān.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī) Though at the same time, manage your time wisely!
• Cheating is ḥarām. Leave out the ḥarām and Allah will suffice you from His bounty. Whoever gives up a thing for the sake of Allah, Allah will compensate him with something better. (Don't let the fact that your exam supervisors are dodgy tempt you!)
After the Exam
• If you discover after the exam that you answered some questions incorrectly, take it as a lesson. Accept the will and decree of Allah, and don't fall prey to frustration and despair. Remember the ḥadīth of the Prophet (ﷺ), ‘If anything befalls you, do not say, “If only I had done such-and-such.” Rather say:
"قَدَرُ اللهِ وَمَا شَاءَ فَعَلَ"
“Qadaru -Llāhi wa mā shā’a fa‘al”
(“It is the decree of Allah, and He does what He wills"),
for saying "if only" opens the door for the Shayṭān.’ (Narrated by Muslim)
• Don't engage in the post-exam chatter of, “Oh, what did you write?” and, “Man, I wrote the wrong thing!” and, “I stuffed up cuz. I think TAFE's waiting for me now…” That's going to leave you in a bad psychological state which could affect your performance in your other exams. A more productive thing to do is to go home, do wuḍū’, pray two rak‘ahs and then make du‘ā’ to ask Allah to have the marker mark in your favour – after all, the marker's heart is in Allah's Hands, right?
• If things didn't go as you would've liked them to, keep in mind:
1) It's not the end of the world. Things could've gone worse. Would you prefer getting a bad exam mark or having an accident on the way to school that leaves you paralysed for life?
2) Allah tells us in the Qur’ān,
وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تَكْرَهُوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“It may well be that you all hate something and it is actually better for you. It may well be that you all love something and it is actually worse for you. Allah knows. And you – you don't know!” (Qur’ān 2:216)
Some Du‘ā’s
رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
Rabbanā ātinā fi -d-dunyā ḥasanatan wa fi -l-ākhirati ḥasanatan wa qinā ‘adhāba -n-nār
Our Lord! Grant us goodness in this world, goodness in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of Hellfire.
رَبِّ ٱشْرَحْ لِى صَدْرِى وَيَسِّرْ لِىٓ أَمْرِى
Rabbi -sh-raH lī ṣadrī wa yassir lī amrī
My Lord! Expand my chest for me (i.e. put my heart at peace for me), and make my matter easy for me.
اللَّهُمَّ لا سَهْلَ إلا ما جَعَلْتَهُ سَهْلاً وأنْتَ تَجْعَلُ الحَزَنَ إذا شِئْتَ سَهْلاً
Allāhumma lā sahla illā mā ja‘altahū sahlā, wa anta taj‘alu -l-ḥuzna idhā shi’ta sahlā
O Allah! There is no ease other than what You make easy! And You, when You will, turn sorrow to ease.
رَبِّ يَسِّرْ وَلَا تُعَسِّرْ، رَبِّ تَمِّمْ بِالْخَيْرِ
Rabbi yassir wa lā tu‘assir, rabbi tammim bi -l-khayr
My Lord! Make easy my affairs, and don't make them difficult. My Lord! Complete my affair with goodness.
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهٖ وَصَحْبِهٖ وَسَلِّمْ
Allāhumma ṣalli ‘alā sayyidinā Muḥammadin, wa ‘alā ālihī wa ṣaḥbihī wa sallim
O Allah, send prayers and peace upon our master Muhammad, and upon his family and companions.
Also, the Ṣalāt al-Ibrāhīmiyyah that we say at the end of our daily ṣalāh.
From the best of du‘ā’s is the du‘ā’ that comes from your heart, in your own words. Remember, du‘ā’ outside ṣalāh doesn't need to be in Arabic.
وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله ربّ العالمين. وصلّى الله على سيّدنا محمّد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلّم.
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