With the end of the academic year approaching many of us begin to feel the stress build up, especially with exams round the corner. Exams require revision, patience, and practice. But what do we have in the Sunnah to help us with our exams?

Firstly, put your trust completely in Allah. Remember Allah is the One who decrees,

and we have to accept what He has decreed, and be satisfied with it. Now, I’m not saying ‘don’t revise, it doesn’t matter anyways, because Allah has already written the outcome’-No! Revise still, because you don’t know what is written. You have to put the effort, that’s your responsibility. Then Allah will decide the rest.

Secondly, Allah is the only One that can truly help you. Make lots of duaa. Remember Allah before the stress begins; if you remember Allah in times of ease, Allah will remember you in times of difficulty. Make duaa whilst studying, whilst revising and after revising. Pray tahajjud, because the arrows of the night never miss their target. Glorify Allah, praise Him and thank Him. Make duaa before your exam, and in your exam. Follow the etiquettes of duaa for an even greater chance of your duaa being accepted. Make duaa after your exams are completed until you get your results. A great duaa that I’m sure will come handy is,

Thirdly, avoid sins. This may seem wholly unconnected with exams, but sins affect your memory. Good memory is crucial to exams. Imam Ash-Shafi’ee said, “I complained to my Shaykh (Wakee’) about my bad memory, and he taught me that I should keep away from sin.”  Furthermore, it is reported that a man asked Maalik ibn Anas, “O Abu Abdallah is there anything that will improve my memory?” He said, “If anything will improve it, it is giving up sin.” So engage in Istighfaar in hope that Allah will improve your memory.

Watch your diet. You are what you eat. If you eat junk, you’ll look like junk (no offense) and you’ll think of junk too. Also excessive eating causes laziness, and possibly a ‘dead-brain’ that wants to sleep. Imam Az-Zuhri said, “you should eat honey because it is good for the memory.” Raisins and currants are also recommended for memory improvement. My grandmother always advises me to eat almonds and drink milk when I have exams. These foods should be eaten not just during the exam period, because it will be less effective as it is short-term and may take time to work on the body. Sour and acidic foods should be avoided as they are known to decrease memory.

Exercise. Your body, and brain both need exercise. It keep your blood pumping, makes you energetic, and stimulates your memory. Studies have found that cardio exercise increase the size of the hippocampus, which is vital for memory.

Zam-zam. We all know the miraculous nature of Zam-zam, and that when we drink it we should supplicate to Allah. Use the opportunity wisely, ask Allah to help you pass your exams with outstanding grades! Drinking water generally improves the memory too. It gives the brain electrical energy and it’s necessary for the production of hormones and neurotransmitters, all of which are necessary for memory.

Take your time to answer the questions, but of course stay within the given time limit. Plan your answers carefully. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said, “deliberation is from Allah, and haste is from Shaytaan.” (Sahih Al-Jami’) Think carefully before you answer. Beware of waswasa from Sahytaan, he never likes to see you succeed at anything.

Cheating in an exam is not from the etiquettes of a muslim. A true muslim fears Allah and is aware that Allah is All-Seeing, and that he will be brought to account for his actions. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “He who cheats is not one of us.”

Last but not least, going back to the first point, everything is from Allah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “if anything befalls you do not say, if only I had done such ad such. Rather say, ‘Qaddar Allah wa maa shaa’a kaan.’” Meaning, ‘the decree of Allah and what He wills happened (collected by Muslim.)

The next time you have exams, tests, or perhaps you are memorising Quran or hadith, use these tips to help you.