Deception During War
باب الْمَكْرِ فِي الْحَرْبِ
Sunan Abu Dawood, Book of Jihad (Kitab Al-Jihad)(view book)
Jabir reported the Apostle of Allah ﷺ as saying “War is deception.”
حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ مَنْصُورٍ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ عَمْرٍو، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ جَابِرًا، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ " الْحَرْبُ خُدْعَةٌ " .
Classification
Narrated Ka'b ibn Malik:
When the Prophet ﷺ intended to go on an expedition, he always pretended to be going somewhere else, and he would say: War is deception.
Abu Dawud said: Only Ma'mar has transmitted this tradition. By this he refers to his statement "War is deception" through this chain of narrators. He narrated it from the tradition of 'Amr b. Dinar from Jabir, and from the tradition of Ma'mar from Hammam b. Munabbih on the authority of Abu Hurairah.
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ ثَوْرٍ، عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ كَعْبِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ كَانَ إِذَا أَرَادَ غَزْوَةً وَرَّى غَيْرَهَا وَكَانَ يَقُولُ " الْحَرْبُ خُدْعَةٌ " . قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ لَمْ يَجِئْ بِهِ إِلاَّ مَعْمَرٌ يُرِيدُ قَوْلَهُ " الْحَرْبُ خُدْعَةٌ " . بِهَذَا الإِسْنَادِ إِنَّمَا يُرْوَى مِنْ حَدِيثِ عَمْرِو بْنِ دِينَارٍ عَنْ جَابِرٍ وَمِنْ حَدِيثِ مَعْمَرٍ عَنْ هَمَّامِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ .