As for the benefit accruing to the polytheists: their continued existence keeps alive the hope that, when they witness the banners and proofs of Islam or its message reaches them, some of them will inevitably embrace the faith—and this is dearer to Allah than their being slain.

At this point an important observation must be made: limiting oneself to abridged works without consulting the author’s other foundational writings is a scholarly mistake that researchers are obliged to avoid.

The second premise advanced by some who cast doubt on this epistle—and with which they seek to deny the soundness of this abridgment—proves, upon careful examination, to be unfounded. In reality, Shaykh al-Islam holds that a disbeliever is not to be put to death merely for his disbelief, and he states this plainly in several of his works, among them:

• He, may Allah have mercy on him, said in al-Ṣārim al-Maslūl (2/210): “When he commanded the killing of the woman who had reviled him, yet did not permit the killing of her tribe, though they were disbelievers, fully aware that…"