[Explanation]

Imam al-Nawawi—may Allah have mercy on him—states in his book Riyad al-Salihin, under the chapter on safeguarding the five daily prayers, quoting the report of Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer, and pay the zakah.”

The phrase “I have been commanded” shows that Allah, exalted be He, is the One who ordered him to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer, and pay the zakah. The very One who commanded him to fight them is their Creator, and He is free to dispose of His dominion as He wills: He may command that they be killed, or He may command that they be fought until they accept Islam. Once they embrace Islam, he must cease fighting them.

This hadith is qualified by the Almighty’s words:

“Fight those who do not believe in Allah or the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and who do not follow the religion of truth—among those who were given the Scripture—until they pay the jizyah, willingly submitting and feeling themselves subdued.” ⦗Quran 9:29⦘

It is likewise qualified by the hadith of Buraidah ibn al-Husayb: when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed a commander over an army or a detachment, he would enjoin him to fear Allah, and in that narration he said, “If they choose to pay the jizyah, accept it from them and desist from fighting them.”

Accordingly, disbelievers are fought until one of two outcomes is reached: either they accept Islam, or they pay the jizyah in humble submission. If they do neither, it becomes obligatory for the Muslims to fight them.