THERE IS NO COMPULSION IN RELIGION

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Is the hadith stating:

أُمرت أن أُقاتل الناس حتّى يشهدوا أن لا إله إلاّ الله، فإن فعلوا، عصموا منّي دمائهم وأموالهم، وحسابهم على الله

"I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; if they do so, they will have protected from me their lives and property, and their reckoning is with Allah"

considered authentic?

And how can this be reconciled with the Qur’anic verse:

لاَ إِكرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ قَد تَبَيَّنَ الرُّشدُ مِنَ الغَيِّ

“There is no compulsion in religion; truth stands out clearly from error” (Al-Baqarah: 256)?

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Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you,

The aforementioned hadith appears in some non-authoritative sources within our tradition in a mursal (disconnected) form, such as in Daʿāʾim al-Islām [1] and ʿAwālī al-Laʾālī [2]. It is also reported by al-Ṣadūq in Thawāb al-Aʿmāl, within a sermon attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), but with a weak chain of transmission [3], and likewise in ʿUyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā (peace be upon him) [4]. Al-Qummī also transmits it mursal in his Tafsīr, citing it as part of a prophetic sermon (5).

However, the hadith is deemed authentic among Sunni scholars; it is found in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim [6] and other collections, [7] 

Thus, it’s therefore considered a hadith that enjoys consensus among Muslims.

As for reconciling this hadith with the noble Qur’anic verse, this may be understood as follows: The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) statement, “I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify...”, refers specifically to those who fought against him and spread corruption upon the earth.

This interpretation is further supported by verse 193 of Sūrat al-Baqarah:

وَقَاتِلُوهُم حَتَّى لا تَكُونَ فِتنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ الدِّينُ لِلَّهِ فَإِنِ انتَهَوا فَلا عُدوَانَ إِلاَّ عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ

“And fight them until there is no more persecution (fitnah), and religion is [exclusively] for Allah. But if they cease, then there is to be no aggression except against the oppressors.” (al-Baqarah 2:193)

This is also evident in the hadith of the standard (al-rāyah), as narrated by Muslim from Abū Hurayrah:

“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said on the Day of Khaybar: ‘I will surely give this banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and through whom Allah will grant victory.’...

He continued: ‘So ʿAlī advanced a little, then stopped without turning back, and shouted: "O Messenger of Allah! For what purpose should I fight the people?" The Prophet replied:

قاتلهم حتّى يشهدوا أن لا إله إلاّ الله وأنّ محمّداً رسول الله، فإذا فعلوا ذلك فقد منعوا منك دماءهم وأموالهم إلاّ بحقّها، وحسابهم على الله

"Fight them until they bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah. If they do so, they have protected from you their lives and property, except in accordance with due right, and their reckoning is with Allah.”’” [8]

And it is well-known that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not fight the people of Khaybar except after they had fought against him, posed serious threats to Islam, and spread corruption upon the earth.

In fact, the Qur’an permits Muslims to show kindness and generosity to those who have not fought them on account of religion, nor expelled them from their homes or violated life and property. Allah the Exalted says:

لا يَنهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَم يُقَاتِلُوكُم فِي الدِّينِ وَلَم يُخرِجُوكُم مِن دِيَارِكُم أَن تَبَرُّوهُم وَتُقسِطُوا إِلَيهِم إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ المُقسِطِينَ

“Allah does not forbid you from those who have not fought you because of religion and have not expelled you from your homes—from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.” (al-Mumtaḥanah 60:8)

And may you remain in the protection of Allah.

References 

[1] Daʿāʾim al-Islām, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān al-Maghribī, Vol. 2, p. 402.

[2] ʿAwālī al-Laʾālī, by Ibn Abī Jumhūr al-Aḥsāʾī, vol. 2, p. 224.

[3] Thawāb al-Aʿmāl wa ʿIqāb al-Aʿmāl, Shaykh Sāduq, Book 3, Chapter 132, Hadith

[4] ʿUyūn akhbār Ar-Riḍā , Volume 2, Book 1, Chapter 1, Hadith 281

[5] Tafsīr al-Qummī, by ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 172.

[6] Muslim, Muḥammad bin Ḥajjāj, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book 1, Ḥadīth 35

[7] See Al-Bukhārī, Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Book 2, Ḥadīth 18.

[8] Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, book 44, ḥadīth 52 

The original text in arabic can be found here

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