Islam is the true religion which Allah (may He be glorified) has ordained for all people, and He will never accept any other religion from anyone. Allah (may He be exalted) says: {And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers} [Al ‘Imraan 3:85]. In this hadith, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stated that Allah (may He be exalted) had commanded him to fight the polytheists who were waging war and preventing the message of Islam from reaching people; Allah had given permission to fight them until they testified to the oneness of Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) and to the message of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him); established the obligatory prayers – Fajr, Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib and ‘Isha’ – by continuing to perform them, fulfilling all the necessary conditions; and gave the obligatory zakah, which is a financial act of worship that is due on all types of wealth that meet the minimum threshold, as defined in Islamic teachings, when one full lunar (or Hijri) year has passed since acquiring that wealth, giving one quarter of one tenth. This is to be taken from their rich and given to the poor. Prayer and zakah are singled out for mention because they are the foremost physical and financial acts of worship, and other acts of worship stem from them. If they do these things, then their lives and wealth will be protected, according to Islamic teachings, except – as he said – in cases dictated by Islamic law. This refers to an exception from protection. In other words, Islam protects their lives and wealth, so it is not permissible to kill them, unless they commit a crime or offence which incurs the penalty of execution, according to Islamic rulings. So a murderer may be executed as a retaliatory punishment (qisas), and an apostate and a married or previously-married adulterer may be executed as a hadd punishment. Then on the Day of Resurrection, Allah (may He be exalted) will bring them to account, and He will reward the sincere and punish the hypocrite. As for us, we can only judge matters on the basis of how things appear to be. This hadith does not mean that the polytheists should be forced to enter Islam. Rather they have the choice between entering Islam or paying the jizyah. If, however, they insist on opposing the message of Islam, then there is no option but to fight them; we are to fight those who fight us in order to prevent us from spreading the message of Allah (may He be exalted), as is explained in the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah..