CHAPTER 17 A BRIEF CHAPTER ON THE ART OF WAR (1) Allah mentions five things, if they exist in a fighting group they would definitely win regardless of their numbers. These five attributes are mentioned in the following two verses: “O you who have believed, when you encounter a company [from the enemy forces] stand firm and remember Allah much that you may be successful. And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart; and be patient. Indeed Allah is with the patient.”346 A. Being steadfast (firm) B. Remembrance of Allah C. Obeying Allah and His Messenger D. Avoiding disputes E. Patience (2) The Mujahideen need to be alert and they need to use deception. The Messenger of Allah T said: “War is deception”347 It is said that when Ali duelled with Amr bin Abdwod, Ali looked over Amr’s shoulder and said: “Amr I only came out to fight you, not the two of you.” Amr looked behind to see who Ali was talking about and Ali took advantage of that and struck him. Amr said: “You’ve deceived me!” Ali said: “War is all about deception!” (3) It is Sunnah not to disclose where the army is heading. The Messenger of Allah T did not disclose his destination in any battle except at Tabook because it was against the Romans and was far away. He did that in order to have the Muslims prepare accordingly. (3) The envoy sent to the enemy is a reflection of the army. The envoy should be representative of the courage, wisdom, and intelligence of the army and its leadership. How many times has an army belittled the enemy because of the lack of resolve, foolishness, or weakness of the enemy’s messenger? And how many times has an army held the enemy in high esteem due to the dignity, courage, fluency or wisdom of the messenger? Therefore the commander needs to make the right choice for this important role. The same envoy should not be sent too many times to the same enemy in order not to have a personal relationship develop which could in turn develop into friendship. That could eventually lead to a lack of effectiveness in the envoy’s mission. It could lead to treason by the envoy.
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Surah Al Anfaal 45-46. Bukhari and Muslim.
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