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Nor did He say, “So fight them,” for there was no faction among them that was still fighting (1). Instead, He ordered that they be killed wherever they were found, taken captive—that is, kept as prisoners—and confined to their own localities, just as the people of Taʾif were confined. Then He said, “But if they repent, establish prayer, and give the prescribed alms, then let them go their way,” and He did not say, “Fight them until they establish prayer” (2); at that point there was simply no one left who would fight.
(1) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah writes in al-Fatāwā, pp. 597-598: “Allah the Exalted says: fa-idha insalakha al-ashhuru al-hurum fa-qtulū al-mushrikīn … (When the sacred months have passed, slay the polytheists, Qurʾan 9:5). For this reason the Prophet ﷺ marched against the Christians of Byzantine territory during the Tabūk expedition in the ninth year. He was only able to attack the Christians once he felt secure with regard to the Arab idolaters and was certain that Islam faced no danger from them. Hence he did not grant anyone who was fit for combat permission to stay behind … for at that moment there was no force anywhere in the Arabian Peninsula—neither in Mecca, nor in Najd, nor elsewhere—waging war against the Muslims of Mecca, Medina, or any other Islamic land, nor capable of frightening them.”
(2) Ibn Taymiyyah states in Minhāj al-Sunnah, 8/509-510: “Such people are confronted with only two options, fighting or Islam. Allah, exalted be He, did not say, ‘You will fight them until they become Muslim,’ nor, ‘Fight them until they submit to Islam.’ Rather, He merely described them: they either fight or enter Islam. If they are fought, they must be fought as Allah has commanded until they pay the jizya, humbly …”
وَلَمْ يَقُلْ: فَقَاتِلُوهُمْ، فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهِمْ طَائِفَةٌ تُقَاتِلُ (١)، بَلْ أَمَرَ بِقَتْلِهِمْ حَيثُ وُجِدُوا وأَخْذِهِمْ، وَهُوَ الأَسْرُ، وَحَصْرِهِمْ فِي أَمْكِنَتِهِمْ، كَمَا حَصَرَ أَهْلَ الطَّائِف.
ثُمَّ قَالَ: ﴿فَإِنْ تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّوا سَبِيلَهُمْ﴾ وَلَمْ يَقُلْ: قَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّى يُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةِ (٢)؛ إِذْ لَمْ يَكُنْ هُنَاكَ مَنْ يُقَاتِلْ،
(١) قال شيخ الإسلام في الفتاوى (٥٩٧ - ٥٩٨): (قال تعالى: ﴿فَإِذَا انْسَلَخَ الْأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ﴾ الآية ... ولهذا غزا النبي ﷺ النصارى بأرض الروم عام تبوك سنة تسع، وإنما أمكنه غزو النصارى لما اطمأن من جهة مشركى العرب، وعلم أنه لا خوف على الإسلام منهم؛ ولهذا لم يأذن لأحد ممن يصلح للقتال ... لأنه لم يكن حينئذ بأرض العرب، لا بمكة ولا بنجد ونحوهما، من يقاتل أهل دار الإسلام مكة والمدينة وغيرهما، ولا يخيفهم).
(٢) قال شيخ الإسلام في منهاج السنة (٨/ ٥٠٩ - ٥١٠): (وهؤلاء وجد فيهم أحد الأمرين القتال أو الإسلام، وهو سبحانه لم يقل: (تقاتلونهم أو يسلمون) إلى أن يسلموا، ولا قال: (قاتلوهم حتى يسلموا)؛ بل وصفهم بأنهم يقاتلون أو يسلمون، ثم إذا قوتلوا فإنهم يقاتلون كما أمر الله حتى يعطوا الجزية عن يد وهم =