God the Exalted says in Sūrat al-Tawbah:

“A declaration of disavowal from Allah and His Messenger to those polytheists with whom you made a treaty” (9:1),

and He says,

“except for those polytheists with whom you concluded a treaty” (9:4),

and He says,

“so fulfil with them their treaty to the end of its term, for Allah loves those who are mindful of Him” (9:4).

A group of jurists imagined that a covenant with the unbelievers may only be contracted for a fixed period. They then disagreed among themselves: some held that such a covenant can be broken and is therefore not binding; others maintained that it is binding and may not be annulled. They were likewise unclear about the Prophet’s—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—act of repudiating certain treaties. The correct view is that a covenant may be concluded either without a term or with one. If it is time-bound, it is binding and may not be revoked, because of His words:

“so fulfil with them their treaty to the end of its term” (9:4).

If it is open-ended, it is not binding, for perpetual, irrevocable contracts are never unlimited—just like partnerships, agency agreements, and the like. This matter has been discussed in detail elsewhere, with the names of those who espoused each opinion.

The point here is that when Allah revealed Sūrat al-Barāʾah He said:

“When the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them” (9:5).

These are the four months concerning which He said:

“So travel freely throughout the land for four months” (9:2).

They are not the inviolable months of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, Dhū al-Ḥijjah, Muḥarram, and Rajab, as some have claimed; whoever claimed this was mistaken. He, the Exalted, also said, “then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and seize them…”