The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "War is deception."
حدثنا أحمد بن منيع ونصر بن علي قالا حدثنا سفيان بن عيينة عن عمرو بن دينار سمع
قال رسول الله ﷺ الحرب خدعة
No references are available.
Agreed upon (by Bukhari and Muslim). Bukhari narrated it in the Book of Jihad and Expeditions, Chapter on War is Deception, no. 3030, and Muslim, no. 1739, from the hadith of Sufyan bin Uyayna with this wording.There are also narrations on this topic from Ali [Nasai in Al-Kubra, 5/193, no. 8644], Zayd bin Thabit [Tabarani in Al-Kabir, 5/136, no. 4866], Ayesha [Ibn Majah, no. 2833], Ibn Abbas [Ibn Majah, no. 2834], Abu Hurairah [Bukhari, no. 3029 and Muslim, no. 1740], Asma bint Yazid bin Sakan, the learned scholar points to the hadith that follows [no. 1939], Kaab bin Malik [Abu Dawud, no. 2637], and Anas bin Malik [Ahmad, 3/224, and Ibn Hibban].