on jizya, allowing them to remain cultivators, and he concluded with them an open-ended truce in which he said, “We will let you stay so long as Allah lets you stay.”

Since the first people from whom he actually collected it were the delegates of Najrān, it follows that their arrival, his debate and discussion with them, and his invitation to engage in mutual imprecation (mubāhala) all occurred after the Sword Verse that commands fighting them.

It is therefore clear that Allah’s directive to dispute with the People of the Scripture “in the fairest manner—except with those who act unjustly” remains in force and has not been abrogated. The same applies to His general instruction:

“Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good admonition, and argue with them in the best manner.” [an-Naḥl 16:125].