Hadith Details

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Sunan Abi Dawud

كتاب الجهاد

Jihad (Kitab Al-Jihad)

Chapter 15Hadith 2637

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ ثَوْرٍ، عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ كَعْبِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ إِذَا أَرَادَ غَزْوَةً وَرَّى غَيْرَهَا وَكَانَ يَقُولُ ‏"‏ الْحَرْبُ خُدْعَةٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ لَمْ يَجِئْ بِهِ إِلاَّ مَعْمَرٌ يُرِيدُ قَوْلَهُ ‏"‏ الْحَرْبُ خُدْعَةٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ بِهَذَا الإِسْنَادِ إِنَّمَا يُرْوَى مِنْ حَدِيثِ عَمْرِو بْنِ دِينَارٍ عَنْ جَابِرٍ وَمِنْ حَدِيثِ مَعْمَرٍ عَنْ هَمَّامِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ‏.‏

When the Prophet (ﷺ) intended to go on an expedition, he always pretended to be going somewhere else, and he would say: War is deception. Abu Dawud said: Only Ma'mar has transmitted this tradition. By this he refers to his statement "War is deception" through this chain of narrators. He narrated it from the tradition of 'Amr b. Dinar from Jabir, and from the tradition of Ma'mar from Hammam b. Munabbih on the authority of Abu Hurairah.

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When Allah wants two hearts to meet, what is the hadith?
A widely quoted teaching states that when Allah wants two people to meet, He makes their paths converge — often summarized as when He wants two hearts to meet, they will meet. Muslims frequently reflect on this narration as a reminder of divine decree (qadar), trust in Allah's plan, and patience regarding relationships and life events. Always verify wording and grading with qualified scholars and authentic sources.