He, exalted be He, says:

“Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and who do not embrace the religion of truth—among those who were given the Scripture—until they pay the jizyah directly and in humble submission.” (Surah al-Tawbah 9:29)

This verse did not prevent him from ordering that others—such as the Jews and the Magians—also be fought until they too pay the jizyah directly and while humbled. Indeed, the ruling regarding the Magians is affirmed by his Sunnah and by the consensus of his community.

If someone objects, “But they are not People of the Scripture,” the reply is that all of this is among the matters known by necessity from his religion even before acknowledging his prophethood—let alone after affirming it—and a prophet’s statements are never self-contradictory. Since the universality of his summons and his mission is necessarily known, both prior to and after belief in his prophethood, such certain, self-evident knowledge can be opposed by nothing.

Yet this is precisely the habit of those whose hearts are deviant among the people of innovation—the Christians and others: they cling to what is ambiguous and abandon what is unequivocal. Because the Christians debated the Prophet, may Allah grant him blessings and peace, by resorting to ambiguous texts and turning away from what is clear, Allah, blessed and exalted, revealed concerning them:

“It is He who has sent down to you the Book: in it are verses that are precise in meaning—they are the foundation of the Book—while others are ambiguous. Those in whose hearts is deviance pursue the ambiguous, seeking discord and seeking its interpretation; yet none knows its interpretation except Allah. Those firmly grounded in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord.’ But none take heed except those of sound understanding.” (Surah Al ʿImran 3:7)