Explanation of the hadith “I have been ordered to fight the people…”

The following prophetic narrations are misused by modern day Kharijite groups as well as anti-Islam polemicists:

Narrated Ibn 'Umar:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."

Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah."

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah 's Apostle said, " I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' and whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' his life and property will be saved by me except for Islamic law, and his accounts will be with Allah, (either to punish him or to forgive him.)"

(All from Sahih al Bukhari)

The above narration is taken in isolation and portrayed as an independent command while ignoring other narrations that explains, contextualize and specify it. The modern day Kharijites utilize this to confuse their followers into justifying their practice of randomly attacking Non-Muslims and Muslims (whom they accuse of apostasy) at their homes even their own neighbors, places of worship, malls, schools, markets and any other outlet they can find, and they advertise such actions as “Jihad”. They sprinkle their propaganda with this narration by which they coerce people to follow the “Quran and Sunnah”. They consider the rest of the Muslim world to be ignorant of the religion or watering down the religion or covering up the truth.

In this video, the scholar provides a simple breakdown of this narration to correctly understand its meaning. While not fully comprehensive, the major points are covered in a manner that is easy to understand.

In summary, this hadith is understood to be a regulation in context of war with an active opponent. This is similar to the following narration:

Suhail reported on the authority of Abu Huraira that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said on the Day of Khaibar:

I shall certainly give this standard in the hand of one who loves Allah and his Messenger and Allah will grant victory at his hand. Umar b. Khattab said: Never did I cherish for leadership but on that day. I came before him with the hope that I may be called for this, but Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) called 'Ali b. Abu Talib and he conferred (this honour) upon him and said: Proceed on and do not look about until Allah grants you victory, and 'Ali went a bit and then halted and did not look about and then said in a loud voice: Allah's Messenger, on what issue should I fight with the people? Thereupon he (the Prophet) said: Fight with them until they bear testimony to the fact that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger, and when they do that then their blood and their riches are inviolable from your hands but what is justified by law and their reckoning is with Allah.
(Sahih Muslim)

Narrated Sahl bin Sa`d:

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Tomorrow I will give the flag to a man with whose leadership Allah will grant (the Muslim) victory." So the people kept on thinking the whole night as to who would be given the flag. The next morning the people went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and every one of them hoped that he would be given the flag. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Where is `Ali bin Abi Talib?" The people replied, "He is suffering from eye trouble, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)." He said, "Send for him and bring him to me." So when `Ali came, the Prophet (ﷺ) spat in his eyes and invoked good on him, and be became alright as if he had no ailment. The Prophet (ﷺ) then gave him the flag. `Ali said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Shall I fight them (i.e. enemy) till they become like us?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Proceed to them steadily till you approach near to them and then invite them to Islam and inform them of their duties towards Allah which Islam prescribes for them, for by Allah, if one man is guided on the right path (i.e. converted to Islam) through you, it would be better for you than (a great number of) red camels."
(Sahih al Bukhari)

As such permission was given to fight the opponent and to desist in case the opponent decides to surrender and convert to Islam. If there was no such regulation then an opponent in war would have been killed on the grounds of revenge even when they surrender and convert to Islam, as seen from the narration below and it’s explanation by Imam Abu Dawud.

Nafi' AbuGhalib said:

I was in the Sikkat al-Mirbad. A bier passed and a large number of people were accompanying it.
They said: Bier of Abdullah ibn Umayr. So I followed it. Suddenly I saw a man, who had a thin garment on riding his small mule. He had a piece of cloth on his head to protect himself from the sun. I asked: Who is this important man? People said: This is Anas ibn Malik.

When the bier was placed, Anas stood and led the funeral prayer over him while I was just behind him, and there was no obstruction between me and him. He stood near his head, and uttered four takbirs (Allah is Most Great). He neither lengthened the prayer nor hurried it. He then went to sit down. They said: AbuHamzah, (here is the bier of) an Ansari woman. They brought her near him and there was a green cupola-shaped structure over her bier. He stood opposite her hips and led the funeral prayer over her as he had led it over the man. He then sat down.

Al-Ala' ibn Ziyad asked: AbuHamzah, did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say the funeral prayer over the dead as you have done, uttering four takbirs (Allah is Most Great) over her, and standing opposite the head of a man and the hips of a woman?

He replied: Yes. He asked: AbuHamzah, did you fight with the Messenger of Allah? He replied: Yes. I fought with him in the battle of Hunayn. The polytheists came out and invaded us so severely that we saw our horses behind our backs. Among the people (i.e. the unbelievers) there was a man who was attacking us, and striking and wounding us (with his sword). Allah then defeated them. They were then brought and began to take the oath of allegiance to him for Islam.

A man from among the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) said: I make a vow to myself that if Allah brings the man who was striking us (with his sword) that day, I shall behead him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) kept silent and the man was brought (as a captive).

When he saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he said: Messenger of Allah, I have repented to Allah. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stopped (for a while) receiving his oath of allegiance, so that the other man might fulfil his vow. But the man began to wait for the order of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for his murder. He was afraid of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to kill him. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw that he did not do anything, he received his oath of allegiance. The man said: Messenger of Allah, what about my vow? He said: I stopped (receiving his oath of allegiance) today so that you might fulfil your vow. He said: Messenger of Allah, why did you not give any signal to me? The Prophet (ﷺ) said: It is not worthy of a Prophet to give a signal.

AbuGhalib said: I asked (the people) about Anas standing opposite the hips of a woman. They told me that this practice was due to the fact that (in the days of the Prophet) there were no cupola-shaped structures over the biers of women. So the imam used to stand opposite the hips of a woman to hide her from the people.

Abu Dawud said: The saying of the Prophet (ﷺ) "I have been commanded to fight against the people until they say: There is no god bu Allah" abrogated this tradition of fulfilling the vow by his remark: "I have repented".

(Sunan Abi Dawud)

As such, these narrations are to be understood in wider context and do not at all abrogate other clear Quranic verses and prophetic narrations such as the prohibition of killing civilians or the protection guaranteed to non-Muslims under treaty with Muslims, nor does it promote forced conversions to Islam.