Accordingly, some Muslims treat the word as applying to every category of unbeliever—Christians foremost among them. Of these, there are those who forbid marrying such women, exactly as ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar used to forbid marrying a Christian woman, declaring, “I know of no polytheism more serious than her saying that Jesus is her Lord.” This is likewise the view of a group among the Shiʿah and others.

The vast majority of the early and later scholars, however, permit marrying women from the People of the Book and allow consumption of the meat they slaughter. Yet, when they hold that the term “polytheists” is universal, they say: “This verse—”