It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, he says: Whenever the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, fought with any people, he first invited them to Islam.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said on the day of Khaybar:“Tomorrow I will give the flag to such a person that Allah Almighty will grant victory at his hands. He loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him.”The people spent that night wondering who would be given the flag. When morning came and they went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), each one hoped that he would receive the flag. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Where is Ali bin Abi Talib?”Someone said:“O Messenger of Allah! His eye is sore.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Send for him and bring him here.”So he was brought, then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spat in his eyes and prayed for him, and he was healed as if he had never had any pain. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him the flag. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“O Messenger of Allah! Shall I fight them until they become like us?”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Proceed with ease until you reach their courtyard, then invite them to Islam and inform them of what is obligatory upon them from the rights of Allah. By Allah! If Allah guides even one man through you, it is better for you than red camels.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Buraidah Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: Whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed someone as the commander of a small or large army, he would especially advise him to fear Allah and to counsel the Muslims with him towards goodness and virtue, and would say: Fight in the name of Allah, in His path, and fight those who disbelieve in Allah. When you meet your polytheist enemies, invite them to one of three things. If they respond positively to any of these, accept it from them and refrain from attacking them. First, invite them to Islam. If they accept, then accept it from them. Then invite them to migrate from their homes to the homes of the Muhajireen, and inform them that if they do so, they will have the same rights as the Muhajireen and the same responsibilities will be upon them as are upon the Muhajireen. If they refuse to migrate in this way, then inform them that their status will be that of Bedouin Muslims; Allah’s command will apply to them as it applies to such Muslims, and they will have no share in the spoils of war or booty, except if they fight alongside the Muslims. If they refuse to accept Islam, then invite them to pay the jizya. If they agree, then accept the jizya from them and refrain from fighting them. If they refuse to pay the jizya as well, then seek help from Allah and begin fighting them.

Second chain: A similar text is narrated, except that in it is: And when you besiege the people of a fortress and they want you to grant them the protection of Allah and the protection of His Prophet, do not do so; do not grant them the protection of Allah and His Prophet. Rather, you may grant them your own protection, or that of your father or your companions. The reason is that if you break your own or your forefathers’ protection, it is less serious than breaking the protection of Allah and His Messenger. Similarly, if you besiege the people of a fortress and they wish that you bring them down according to Allah’s command, do not bring them down according to Allah’s command, but according to your own command, because you do not know whether you will attain Allah’s command regarding them or not.

Abu Bakhtari says: Sayyiduna Salman al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him) laid siege to a fortress among the palaces of Persia. His companions said to him: O Abu Abdullah! Will you not stand up against them (and attack them)? He said: No, not until I invite them, just as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to invite. So he went to them and spoke to them thus: I am a Persian man, I am from among you, these Arabs obey me. Choose one of three matters: either accept Islam, or pay the jizya with your own hands, in a state of humiliation and you will not be praised, or else we will declare war against you and begin fighting. They said: We will neither accept Islam nor pay the jizya, rather we declare war against you. Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) returned to his companions. They said: Will you not now stand up against them? He said: No. Then he invited them for three days, but they did not accept. Then he began fighting them and conquered the fortress.

Abu Bakhtari says: Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) laid siege to one of the palaces of Persia and said to his companions: Leave me alone, so that I may do what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did. Then he praised and glorified Allah Almighty and said: I am one of you, Allah Almighty has granted me Islam, and you see that the Arabs are obedient to me. Now, if you also accept Islam and migrate to us, then you will be in our place and you will receive the rights and rulings that we have. And if you accept Islam but remain in your own land, then you will be in the place of the Bedouins and you will receive the rights of the Bedouins, and the responsibilities that are imposed on the Bedouins will be imposed on you. And if you reject Islam and agree to pay the jizya, then you will receive the rights that the people of jizya receive, and the responsibilities that are imposed on the people of jizya will be imposed on you. He presented these matters to them for three days, but since they did not accept, he said to his companions: Now stand up and attack them. Thus, they conquered it.

Ibn Aun says: I wrote to Imam Nafi’ asking these questions: What kept Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) from participating in battles or staying behind from those who went out for jihad? Before fighting the enemy, what should they first be invited to? And can a person attack an army without the permission of the Imam? He replied in writing: The son of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) is engaged in jihad and he (Ibn Umar) provides mounts, and he also says that after prayer, the most virtuous deed is jihad in the way of Allah. But what kept Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) from going out to battle were the bequests of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), young children, and abundant wealth. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) launched a night attack on Banu Mustaliq while they were unaware and watering their camels, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) killed their warriors and took the rest captive. In this battle, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) acquired Lady Juwayriya bint al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with her) as a captive. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this hadith to me, and he was present in that army as well. The disbelievers should first be invited to Islam, and a person should not attack an army without the permission of the Imam.