Welcome to a special edition of the Strategic Sunnah newsletter where we’ll explain the masterpiece of military strategy: The Art of War.
Written 2,500 years ago by Sun Tzu, a celebrated Chinese general, The Art of War is a concise read yet full of strategy and wisdom still relevant to this day. We’ll cover a chapter each week to apply the lessons in your life so you can:
Plan strategically
Prevent conflicts before they arise
Resolve conflicts when they do arise
Turn problems into solutions
Be proactive instead of reactive
Act with patience, courage and wisdom
Part 1—Laying Plans
Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.
It is a matter of life and death, a road either to survival or to destruction. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
We cannot take warfare lightly—it must be studied and understood with immense seriousness. Warfare isn’t only about live combat. It is influenced by economic, political and social concerns, among many other important considerations.
The art of war is not found in the emotions or ideologies one may harbour. Yet how many times a day do we see Muslims online and in person calling for war without even a whiff of a plan or acknowledgment of its seriousness?
“We are happy to call for fire in a far away land where we’ll never feel the heat. Knowing full well Muslims will burn, Muslims we'll never meet."
The fact is most of us will never experience war firsthand. But we all face conflicts in our lives. Arguments, online debates, a disagreement at work—how we deal with them can either ruin us or help us grow.
Not every conflict needs to end in a physical confrontation. The strategic Muslim picks his battles, resolves conflict where possible and, if it cannot be avoided, employs every tactic at his disposal to overcome his opponent.
The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's calculations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.
These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.
The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.
Laying plans is about calculating your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in the five factors mentioned above.
The Moral Law is about unity of purpose. A successful army (and by extension the Nation) shares the same goal—from the one thinking about joining to the highest ranking commander. Everyone strives for the same goal as if they were one body.
What unites them is not belief or emotion or ideology. They are united by a moral purpose. If your Moral Law is unshakeable—if the morality behind your goal is strong—then so is your unity of purpose.
You will attract more support from others if your Moral Law is strong and you will lose support if it is weak. And the same is true of your opponent. We need strong Moral Law (unity of purpose) among the Muslims and weak Moral Law (division) among the enemy.
Unfortunately the opposite is far too commonly observed. This needs to change.
Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.
Heaven represents the changing environmental factors that affect an armies effectiveness. These must be assessed to find where you have the greatest advantage and the enemy at the greatest disadvantage.
This can be applied to the conflicts in your life in terms of assessing the current mood. Are they emotionally ready to accept your idea or do you need to wait for a more opportune moment? When are you at your sharpest and your opponent tired?
It’s also about adaptability. Are you prepared for unforeseen changes in the market? What if your opponent has backup? There is a good time and a bad time for everything and it can all change unpredictably—just like the weather.
Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.
Earth represents the more permanent factors of the environment such as the location, terrain and space. The landscape in which you operate has a massive effect on your chances of success. Some landscapes put you at a great disadvantage while others offer unique opportunities.
In your own conflicts, this represents the factors of your social environment which do not change as often such as the law or the traditions of the people. You must learn to operate effectively within these restrictions so they can work to your advantage. For example, you may be more effective by working within a company to build your experience than starting from scratch and trying to compete.
Can you restrict your opponent by using his cultural expectations against him? Can you evade danger by using the law?
Heaven and Earth together make up the environment in which you operate. Whether in war or in your personal conflicts, study both to find combinations of tactics and strategies to make you more effective in your goals.
The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and discipline.
These are the beneficial qualities of a leader without which the military commander cannot earn the trust of his soldiers. Trust in the commander is everything—you will not get the full commitment or effort of your soldiers without it and it can undo your calculations on Moral Law, Heaven and Earth.
Wisdom is the commander’s knowledge and judgement. Sincerity is the commander’s character and reputation. Benevolence is the commander’s morality and intentions. Courage is the commander’s strength and spirit. Discipline is the commander’s actions and reliability.
You are the commander of your life and in control of your actions—and like a real commander you will lose trust in yourself if you don’t work on improving these qualities of character.
And trust in leaders is broken when we—I say WE, both leaders and individuals, because it works both ways—betray the Moral Law. And with it comes defeat.
By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.
This represents the organisational effectiveness of the army. An effective organisation in any field require a system to effectively manage the strengths and weaknesses of everyone involved. The manpower, the work required, the resources at your disposal and how to allocate them all need to be calculated and monitored. You must have solid systems for procedures, communication, distribution of information and resource management.
Individually, Muslims must adopt effective systems to be more effective in this short time we’re given. Much of it comes from the organisation of our days and months according to acts of worship like salah and fasting. But we can greatly enhance our effectiveness in worship and every other important area of our lives with skills like goal setting, time management and networking.
These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.
The calculations mentioned above are well known to military leaders and heads of state. The ones who adhered to these principles were successful and the ones who ignored them tasted defeat.
But worst of all are those who could have avoided bloodshed had they not ignored these principles.
Muslims (individually and as a collective) must take this warning very seriously. Anyone calling for war without a plan is sure to lead you to destruction—no matter how pious their calls may sound.
Taking these calculations seriously, studying them, working on mastering each of them and applying them to our lives—with the help of goal setting and organising through effective networking—will build an unbeatable force of strategic and strong Muslims. And from this force you will find effective leaders…
Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:--
(1) Which of the two leaders is imbued with the Moral law? (2) Which of the two generals has most ability? (3) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth? (4) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? (5) Which army is stronger? (6) On which side are officers and men more highly trained? (7) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?
By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.
These are specific examples of how to calculate and compare each of the factors between opposing sides. The experienced strategist can assess the strengths and weaknesses of both sides and make strategic decisions accordingly—even if it means controlling one’s emotions, putting aside ideology and hurting the ego.
The real battle is fought in the mind of the strategic thinker who considers all the factors before a drop of blood is spilled. And he will aim to resolve conflict without bloodshed if possible.
The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!
Who do you choose to follow? Someone who lays plans informed by careful calculations of all the factors… or someone who doesn’t even know about laying plans let alone knowing what to calculate?
War has a way of weeding out the serious from the pretenders. And in this age of armchair revolutionaries you can distinguish those who are worthy of listening to by how much they respect and understand these principles.
Be careful of who you allow to influence your thinking. Fortify yourself against reactionary fools who will only lead you to ruin by studying the factors for yourself.
While heading the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.
According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.
Mastering the 5 factors will help ensure victory. But when circumstances change don’t be so rigid in your own plans—be prepared to adapt and recalculate on the move.
At the same time, you may be able to force circumstances to go with your plan. This is done by building so much momentum in your plans that you can handle any obstacles along the way. The stronger the plans laid the more momentum you can build.
When working on an important goal—one that you have identified will make a positive impact on your life—and you face a setback, are you going to stop your goal? No! You will “force” your way through or around or over the setback and keep moving.
Exert extra efforts to keep your plans in motion. Readjust your trajectory each and every time you are knocked off course. Find new opportunities, leverage and advantages to see your mission through.
All warfare is based on deception.
Guess who else said this?
Abu Hurairah and Jabir (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "War is deception."
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
This doesn’t mean using deceitful or unethical tactics. It is about being formless and unpredictable. Make it as difficult as possible for your enemy to make calculations to lay their plans.
You’re carrying out comprehensive calculations and laying out plans, then setting your plans in motion. But so is your enemy. They will also be assessing your strengths and weaknesses so how do you overcome this? Sun Tzu gives examples:
Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable;
when using our forces, we must seem inactive;
when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away;
when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
If they are at an advantage, hold out baits to entice the enemy.
Feign disorder, and crush him.
If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him.
If he is in superior strength, evade him.
If they are angry, seek to irritate him.
Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.
If he is taking his ease, give him no rest.
If his forces are united, separate them.
Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
Before the physical battle, crush the enemy in the psychological battle.
Confuse them. Make them doubt everything they thought they knew. Cause all their calculations to go wrong. Force them into making mistakes.
Destroy their morale. The enemy can be defeated long before a single bullet is fired.
This works the same in your personal conflicts. Become formless. Appear strong when you are weak so people don’t take advantage. Appear weak when you are strong so people underestimate your abilities. Arrive early to secure the best position. If they are impatient make them wait.
These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.
Everything we’ve discussed so far comes together to give you one of the most devastating tactical advantages: the element of surprise. You must protect your formlessness and unpredictability at all costs.
Train but don’t show off. Prepare but keep it secret.
This is also effective for winning allies. Be more prepared than your boss. Give more value than your customers expect.
Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought.
The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand.
Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all!
It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.
War is measured in monetary cost. In resources you exhaust. Sorrow, anguish and limits crossed. War is measured in lives lost.
War comes at a great cost both in terms of the resources it eats up and in unimaginable human suffering. The leader who takes the most careful deliberations over calculations of the factors above not only lays the strongest plans…
He saves the most lives.
The corrupt leader is the one who is wasteful with the resources of the Nation and of the lives of the people. His poor preparations and weak plans not only lead to defeat… they cost the most lives.
In your own life, how much heartache and pain could you have avoided if you had just taken a little extra time to think over all the factors? Just as the wise military commander goes into seclusion for long periods of time to ponder over all the details, the ramifications of each variable and every decision, we can also separate ourselves from the immediacy of a conflict to find the best course of action.
Think carefully about the situation. Give yourself time and space to consider all the factors. Make an informed, tactical, strategic decision.
Make istikharah.
Conceal your plan.
Take action.
Build momentum.
Adapt if necessary.
This series is a commentary on Sun Tzu’s The Art of War for Muslim Betterment. If you found this beneficial please share it with just one Muslim. Subscribe if you haven’t already so you don’t miss the next part.
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