1273 - حَدَّثَنَا الْحُمَيْدِيُّ قَالَ: ثنا سُفْيَانُ، قَالَ: ثنا عَمْرُو بْنُ دِينَارٍ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ جَابِرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، يَقُولُ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّي اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «الْحَرْبُ خُدْعَةٌ» .
Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "War is the name of deception."
Explanation & Benefits
Maulana Dawood Raz
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.
Source: Sahih Bukhari: Commentary by Maulana Dawood Raz, Page: 3030
Shaykh Abdul Sattar al-Hammad
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.
Source: Hidayat al-Qari: Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Urdu, Page: 3030
Ibn Abi Adi narrated from Sa'id (ibn Abi 'Arubah), who narrated from Qatadah, who narrated from Zurara that (Sa'd bin Hisham bin 'Amir, a close relative of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him) intended to fight (jihad) in the way of Allah. He came to Madinah Munawwarah and wanted to sell a property he owned there so that he could acquire weapons and horses and wage jihad against the Romans until death. When he arrived in Madinah, he met some people from among the people of Madinah, who stopped him from this intention and informed him that a group of six people had intended to do the same during the blessed life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had stopped them. He said: "Is there not an example for you in my way?" So when those people told him this, he returned to his wife, whom he had already divorced, and took witnesses for his return to her. Then he went to Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and asked him about the Witr (including Qiyam al-Layl) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Shall I not inform you of the person who knows the Witr of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) better than all the people on the face of the earth?" Sa'd said: "Who is that?" He said: "Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), go to her and ask, then come back to me and tell me her answer." (Sa'd said:) I set out towards her and first went to Hakim bin Aflah and asked him to come with me to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). He said: "I will not go to her because I had stopped her from saying anything about those two groups (who fought each other), but she did not accept anything except to continue in the same way regarding them." (Sa'd said:) I made him swear, so he came with me. We set out towards Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and sought permission to enter. She granted us permission and we entered her house (door). She said: "Is it Hakim?" She recognized him. He said: "Yes." She said: "Who is with you?" He said: "Sa'd bin Hisham." She asked: "Who is Hisham?" He said: "The son of 'Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) (bin Umayyah al-Ansari)." She prayed for mercy for him and spoke words of goodness. Qatadah said: He ('Amir, may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred in the Battle of Uhud. I said: "O Mother of the Believers! Tell me about the noble character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." She said: "Do you not recite the Qur'an?" I said: "Why not!" She said: "The character of the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Qur'an itself (his life and conduct were a practical example of the Qur'an)." He said: "Upon this, I wished to get up (and leave) and never ask anyone anything until death, but suddenly it occurred to me, so I said: 'Tell me about the (night) standing of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).' She said: 'Do you not recite «يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ»?' I said: 'Why not!' She said: 'At the beginning of this Surah, Allah made standing at night obligatory, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions stood (in prayer) for a whole year, and Allah withheld the last verses of this Surah in the heavens for twelve months, until Allah revealed the command of lightening at the end of this Surah, so after standing at night was made obligatory, it became voluntary.' Sa'd said: 'I said: O Mother of the Believers! Tell me about the Witr of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).' She said: 'We used to prepare the miswak and water for ablution for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah would awaken him at night whenever He willed. He would use the miswak, perform ablution, and then pray nine rak'ahs, in which he would not sit except in the eighth rak'ah. Then he would remember Allah, praise Him, and supplicate, then stand up without saying salam, then stand and pray the ninth rak'ah, then sit, remember Allah, praise Him, and supplicate, then say salam, which we would hear. Then after salam, he would sit and pray two rak'ahs, so my son! These are eleven rak'ahs. Then when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) grew older and (his body) became heavier (his blessed body became heavy), he began to pray seven witr, and in the two rak'ahs he would do as he did before (praying them sitting), so my son! These are nine rak'ahs. And whenever the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed any prayer, he liked to remain constant upon it, and when sleep or illness overcame him and he could not stand at night, he would pray twelve rak'ahs during the day. I do not know that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ever recited the entire Qur'an in one night, nor did he ever pray until morning in any night, nor did he ever fast a whole month except in Ramadan.' (Sa'd said:) Then I went to Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and narrated to him her (Aisha's, may Allah be pleased with her) hadith, so he said: 'Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) has spoken the truth. If I were near her or used to go to her house, I would have gone to her so that she could narrate this hadith to me face to face.' (Sa'd said:) I said: 'If I had known that you do not visit her, I would not have narrated her hadith to you.' (This Sa'd was eventually martyred in the land of India.)
Shaykh Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi
Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
Kura‘:
Horse.
(2)
‘Ala Raj‘atiha:
Both zabar (fatḥa) and zair (kasra) can be used on the letter ra.
To take witnesses upon returning after divorce.
(3)
Bi-raddiha ‘alayka:
Whatever answer they give to your question, inform me.
(4)
Fa-istalḥaqtuhu ilayha:
I requested him
to accompany me in order to go to them.
(5)
Ma ana bi-qāribiha:
I do not wish to go to them.
(6)
Al-Shi‘atayn:
Shi‘a refers to a group or party.
By the two groups are meant those demanding retribution for ‘Uthman radi Allahu anhu and the supporters of ‘Ali radi Allahu anhu,
meaning, you should not support either party.
(7)
Fa-abat fihima illa mudiyyan:
She refused to refrain from intervening in their matter,
meaning, she supported those demanding retribution.
Benefits and Issues:
➊
If someone seeks advice in a matter, one should give correct advice in accordance with the Shari‘ah, and it is not correct to separate from one’s wife and children and sell one’s property to devote one’s life to jihad.
In every matter of life, the life of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam should be taken as a model.
And in every action, the conduct of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam will be the guiding light.
➋
If someone asks a scholar for advice and there is someone present who can give better advice, one should guide the questioner to that person, and it is better to try to learn the answer from him.
➌
It is better to take along someone familiar or acquainted with the scholar when asking a question.
➍
The life, character, and every action of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was in accordance with the Qur’an; in fact, he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the practical interpretation of the Noble Qur’an.
➎
Until the five daily prayers were made obligatory, tahajjud (night prayer) was obligatory for everyone. For one year, standing at night was obligatory upon the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the Companions, then with the last verse of Surah al-Muzzammil:
﴿إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَعْلَمُ.......الآية﴾ its obligation was abrogated, and according to most scholars of the Ummah, the tahajjud prayer was no longer obligatory even for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, but he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam continued to observe it throughout his life.
➏
From this hadith, it is understood that in his later life, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would pray nine rak‘ahs, in which he would sit only in the eighth rak‘ah, recite the tashahhud, remembrance and glorification of Allah, and supplication, then stand up to pray the ninth rak‘ah and end with salam. Qiyam al-layl (standing in prayer at night) was also called witr.
Therefore, this is also a method of performing witr.
➐
In his later years, when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam became elderly and heavyset, he would pray only seven rak‘ahs, and afterwards would pray two rak‘ahs sitting.
➑
If, due to sleep or illness, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam missed the tahajjud prayer, since his usual practice was to pray eleven rak‘ahs at night,
he would instead pray twelve rak‘ahs during the day.
➒
Standing at night (qiyam al-layl) is also called witr.
It was initially obligatory, then its obligation was lifted.
Now witr is not obligatory, but rather a confirmed Sunnah (sunnah mu’akkadah). Some people consider it obligatory, and some, inventing a level below fard (obligation), call it wajib, but their view is not correct.
Source: Tuhfat al-Muslim: Commentary on Sahih Muslim, Page: 1739
Shaykh Dr. Abdur Rahman Freywai
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.
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhi – Majlis ‘Ilmi Dar al-Da‘wah, New Delhi Edition, Page: 1675