god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer, and pay the zakah. He is to fight anyone who refuses any one of these four: the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the establishment of the prayer, and the payment of the zakah. He fights them until they yield and submit to these four. Once they do—meaning they declare that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer, and pay the zakah—their lives and property are protected from me except when legally due, and their reckoning is with Allah.
That is: if they carry out these obligations, they have outwardly surrendered, so their blood and wealth are safeguarded while their ultimate account rests with Allah. Some people may say, “I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,” perform the prayer, and give the zakah, yet their hearts conceal disbelief. Therefore he ﷺ said, “and their reckoning is with Allah.” The hypocrites say, “There is no god but Allah,” yet they remember Allah only a little; they tell the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, “We bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah,” and they pray, but they come to the prayer only lazily; they give in charity, but they spend only while begrudging it—nevertheless, their hearts are filled with unbelief. We ask Allah for safety. For this reason he ﷺ said, “and their reckoning is with Allah.”
He—may Allah have mercy on him—then mentioned the hadith of Abu Hurayrah ⦗Allah be pleased with him⦘ concerning the discussion that took place between Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq ⦗Allah be pleased with him⦘, the first caliph after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb, the second caliph. Although each of them loved the other profoundly, this love did not prevent them from engaging in religious debate and review, for the religion takes precedence over everything else. When Abu Bakr ⦗Allah be pleased with him⦘, upon the Prophet’s death, was chosen by the Companions to be the caliph