Inviting the polytheists before they are fought

Abu al-Bakhtari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) set out to fight the polytheists among the people of Persia, he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Hold back until I invite them, as I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) inviting them." He (may Allah be pleased with him) came to them and said: "I am a man from among you, and you have seen my rank among this people. We invite you to Islam. If you accept Islam, you will have the same rights that we have, and the same will be due from you as is due from us. And if you refuse to accept Islam, then pay the jizyah, humbled and subdued. And if you refuse to pay the jizyah as well, we will fight you." Those people replied: "As for Islam, we will not accept it. And as for the jizyah, we will not pay it either. As for fighting, we will certainly fight and do battle with you." The narrator said: He (may Allah be pleased with him) invited them in this way for three days, and they refused to accept. Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the people: "Attack them."

Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed someone as commander over a detachment or an army, he (peace and blessings be upon him) would specifically enjoin upon that person the fear of Allah, and enjoin upon him to deal well with the Muslims who were with him. And he would say: "Wage jihad in the path of Allah, taking the name of Allah. Fight those who have disbelieved in Allah. Wage jihad, and do not embezzle, do not act treacherously, do not mutilate by cutting off hands and feet, and do not kill children. And when you meet your enemy among the polytheists, invite them to one of three things (or he said: invite them to three things). Whichever of these they agree to, accept it from them and refrain from fighting them. Then invite them to accept Islam. If they agree to what you say, accept it from them and refrain from fighting them. Then invite them to leave their territory and move to the territory of the Muhajirun, and inform them that when they have done so, they will receive the same rights that the Muhajirun have, and the same things will be due from them as are due from the Muhajirun. If they refuse and choose to stay in their own land, inform them that they will be like the Muslim Bedouin. The same commands of Allah will apply to them as apply to the believers, and they will have no share in the fay' or the spoils of war unless they wage jihad with the Muslims. If they refuse to accept this, then call them to pay the jizyah. If they agree to that, accept it from them and refrain from fighting them. And if they refuse that too, seek help from Allah, the Lord of Glory, and then fight them."

Sayyiduna Farwah bin Musayk al-Muradi (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you come to a people, invite them to accept Islam. Accept from whoever agrees to what you say. And as for whoever refuses to accept, do not be hasty, until you have informed me about him."

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him with an army, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a man who was with him: "Catch up with him, and do not call out to him from behind. Say this: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has ordered you to wait for him.'" He (may Allah be pleased with him) waited for him until he (peace and blessings be upon him) came and said: "Do not fight this people until you have invited them."

A man of the tribe of Banu Numayr reports from his father, from his grandfather or his father's grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Do not fight any people until you have invited them."

Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) stated: "When you meet the enemy, invite them to accept Islam."

Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) used to like inviting the polytheists.

Abu Sakhr (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote a letter to the people of Daylam, inviting them to Islam.

Ash'ath (may Allah have mercy on him) said that al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) stated: "When you are about to fight the polytheists, first invite them to Islam."

Sayyiduna Abu al-Tufayl (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Ma'qil al-Tamimi (may Allah have mercy on him) with an army to the tribe of Banu Najiyah, and he said: "When you reach this people, invite them to Islam three times."

Abu al-Jahm (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) with an army to the Kharijites, and he (may Allah be pleased with him) invited them three times.

Sulayman al-Taymi (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Abu Uthman al-Nahdi (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, concerning inviting the polytheists before fighting: "We used to invite them, and we used to leave it."

Sulayman al-Taymi (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Abu Uthman (may Allah have mercy on him) stated: "We used to invite, and we used to leave it."

Sa'id (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) stated: "What is preferable in my view is that I invite them to Islam."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) never fought any people until he (peace and blessings be upon him) had invited them to Islam.