Muslim

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
Khada‘ah, khada‘ah, khuda‘ah, khada‘ah, khad‘ah:
The first three forms are well-known,
and each has the same meaning.

(2)
Khada‘ah:
Battle is a single stratagem;
whoever employs that stratagem succeeds.

(3)
Khuda‘ah:
Battle is
a trick and a stratagem;
each party tries to employ it, as if it is the embodiment of trickery and stratagem.

(4)
Khuda‘ah:
This is a very great trick and plan,
in which people become ensnared,
falling prey to various hopes and desires,
which are not necessarily fulfilled.

(5)
Khad‘ah:
This is the plural of khadi‘ (deceiver),
meaning that battle is full of tricksters and schemers;
each party uses stratagem against the other.

(6)
Khid‘ah:
This is a specific type of trick and stratagem.

Benefits and Issues:
This hadith establishes that in battle, reliance is upon stratagem, trickery, and planning;
whoever employs the better stratagem has adopted the better plan,
and he will attain success.
Therefore, at the beginning and outset, it is difficult to estimate the outcome or result;
at the start, one party may appear dominant,
but in the end, the other party may prevail.
For this reason, some of the Imams have permitted lying in war, while others have said
that by “lying” is meant allusion and indirect speech (ta‘ridh and kinayah),
because the word “lying” is used for allusion and indirect speech,
as when Ibrahim (alayhis salam) will say on the Day of Resurrection,
“I lied three times,” meaning he used allusion and indirect speech.
And the correct view appears to be
that as far as possible, one should avoid lying, and when necessary, benefit from allusion and indirect speech,
unless there is no other recourse,
then in place of tawriyah (double entendre) and ta‘ridh (allusion), lying may be used,
for example, if a Muslim’s life or property cannot be saved without lying, then there is allowance to lie in order to save life and property.

Hadith Commentary:
The meaning is that whichever side displays agility and alertness in battle, the outcome of the war will be in their favor.
Therefore, Muslims need to exercise great vigilance in such situations.
Agility and alertness are absolutely necessary in warfare, and it is in this manner that Allah’s help accompanies them.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
Strategy and cunning are necessary in battle.
In the Battle of the Trench (Ghazwah Khandaq), the Jews, Quraysh, and Ghatafan all united against the Muslims.
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) sent Nu’aym ibn Mas’ud (radi Allahu anhu) to sow discord and disunity among them.
At that time, he said:
“War is deception,” meaning that it is necessary to employ stratagems and deceive the enemy, because whichever side is deceived even once in battle is destroyed and cannot rise again.

➋
It can also be understood to mean that in battle, one should use stratagems and similar means as much as possible so that the need for fighting does not arise, and if you are unable to avoid it, then fight; but the first meaning is more comprehensive.

➌
It should be clear that deception and stratagem are permissible only in battle, but such cunning is not permissible in other matters.

Explanation: 1:

War is one of those three situations in which lying, deception, and trickery may be resorted to. During times of battle, it is permissible to deceive the disbelievers as much as possible, but this should not lead to breaking any covenant or agreement made with them.