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.