This article discusses an allegation made by Sam Shamoun which is nothing but pure deceit. He quotes the following Hadith and then goes on to make some really wild conclusions:

هَلَكَ كِسْرَى ثُمَّ لاَ يَكُونُ كِسْرَى بَعْدَهُ، وَقَيْصَرٌ لَيَهْلِكَنَّ ثُمَّ لاَ يَكُونُ قَيْصَرٌ بَعْدَهُ، وَلَتُقْسَمَنَّ كُنُوزُهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ‏”‏‏.‏ وَسَمَّى الْحَرْبَ خَدْعَةً

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Khosrau will be ruined, and there will be no Khosrau after him, and Caesar will surely be ruined and there will be no Caesar after him, and you will spend their treasures in Allah’s Cause.” He called, “War is deceit’.[1]

The Hadith is basically a prophecy and it is ended by the Prophet (ﷺ) by the words which show that war is something evil and disliked. However, Shamoun has made another unbelievable interpretation:

This basically means that Muslims can use lies and deception when they feel that they are in war against the unbelievers.

One simply wonders how he gets such ideas. Perhaps he would have read such a statement in his own holy book and another statement in his own holy book stating to wage war by way of deceit and then automatically assumed that the statement in the Hadith carries the same meaning. This is too much of a stretch.

His main argument here is that Qur’an 8:61 guides the believers to accept a peace treaty from the unbelievers whom they are fighting while Qur’an 47:35 says to not ask for peace. From this he concludes that trickery or deceit in war is allowed.

Let us take a look at the verses:

وان جنحوا للسلم فاجنح لها وتوكل على الله انه هو السميع العليم

And if they incline to peace, then incline to it [also] and rely upon Allah. Indeed, it is He who is the Hearing, the Knowing.[2]

The verse orders the believers to accept peace if it is offered by those fighting them.

فلا تهنوا وتدعوا الى السلم وانتم الاعلون والله معكم ولن يتركم اعمالكم

So do not weaken and call for peace while you are superior; and Allah is with you and will never deprive you of [the reward of] your deeds.[3]

The verse here orders the believers to not show weakness and stand firm. Looking at the two verses together, one sees that the actions ordered are far from deceit but promote peace. The believers are to not show weakness but if the opponent seeks peace, then it must be taken.

Indeed, Allah knows the best.

[1] Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 267

[2] Qur’an 8:61

[3] Qur’an 47:35