Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) states that Allah Almighty, through the blessed tongue of His Prophet (peace be upon him), called war a deception. (It is the name of employing a stratagem.)

Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Allah Almighty decreed on the blessed tongue of the Prophet ﷺ that war... is the name of strategy. Indeed, I am a warrior, I speak about war. He said that, but when the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said something, then by God, I would have preferred to fall headlong from the sky rather than say something about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he did not say.

It is narrated from Hazrat Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) intended to set out on a journey for jihad, he would give an impression of another journey (i.e., he would keep the journey for jihad concealed).

It is narrated from Hazrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah Almighty will remove people from Hell on the Day of Resurrection after they have become like coal. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: War is the name of deception.

Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I tell you what is between me and you, that war is the name of secret strategy, and if I say to you that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, then it is more beloved to me that I fall headlong from the sky than that I tell a lie.

It is narrated from Hazrat Urwah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: War is nothing but the name of secret strategy.

It is narrated from Hazrat Qais (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed Hazrat Amr bin Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) as the commander in the expedition of Dhat al-Salasil and sent him forth. His army suffered from severe cold. Hazrat Amr bin Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered that no one should light a fire. Then they fought the enemy. When the army returned, they complained to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about this matter. Hazrat Amr bin Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! My army was small, and I feared that if a fire was lit, the enemy would see our small numbers. I also forbade them from pursuing the enemy for the same reason, lest an enemy be lying in ambush on the mountain." The narrator states that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) liked this strategy and tactic very much.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), when Hazrat Amr bin Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) forbade people from lighting a fire, "Do you see this person who has prevented people from their benefit?" Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "Leave him; due to his expertise in war strategies, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed him as our leader."

Hazrat Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) employed a secret stratagem against the polytheists on the day of the Battle of Uhud; this was the first occasion and day on which a stratagem was used against them.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abdul Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that a person named Sabeeh said: Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was an experienced man, he used to say that war is the name of secret strategy. He used to say that he reached the rock and said, "Allahu Akbar, Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have spoken the truth, it is a rock." The narrator says that we saw that there was what was said to be like me. Then he reached the Tigris and said, "Tigris, Allahu Akbar, Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have spoken the truth." We saw that there was a thing as it was said to be.