In that perseverance in fighting is one of the obligations of jihad, it is obligatory until one of four dispositions is attained. The first of these is that they yield into Islam, in which case what is ours becomes theirs because of Islam, our obligations become theirs, and they are granted to hold onto the lands and wealth they possess. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: I have been ordered to fight people until they say “There is no god but Allah” [“La ilaha illa Allah”]; and if they say this, their blood and their property are safe from me, except when these are due. … The second disposition is that Allah Most High grants him [the emir, military commander] victory over them, but they remain in their idolatry [shirk]; their women and children are taken captive, their wealth is plundered, and those of them who are not taken into captivity are killed. With regard to the captives, he has the choice to carry out the most advantageous of four options: one is to kill them as captives by decapitation [darb al-‘unuq, striking the neck], the second is to enslave them and to apply the rulings for slaves to them as regards selling or setting free, the third is to ransom them for money or other prisoners, and the fourth is to show kindness to them and pardon them. Allah Most High has said: { Whenever you face those who have disbelieved, strike the necks } [Muhammad 4]. There are two points of view regarding this: one of these is to strike their necks as captives after gaining power over them, and the other is to fight them in organized armed combat until being able to strike their necks in battle. Then He said: { Until you have thoroughly brought them down; and tighten the shackles } , “brought down” meaning piercing, and “tightening the shackles” meaning taking captive. … The third disposition is for them to pay money for conciliation and to make peace. This may be levied from them, and peace made, in two ways: one of these is for them to pay at that time, and not make it a perpetual revenue … the second is for them to pay every year, and for this to be a perpetual tax, and thereby security is permanent. … The fourth disposition is that they ask for security and a truce. It is permissible, if victory over them or taking a payment is difficult, to establish a truce with them for conciliation, for an appointed duration by which he establishes a truce with them, if the leader [imam] has given him [the emir] permission for the truce or authorized him to do so. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) established, with the Quraysh in the year of Hudaybiyya, a ten-year truce. The duration of the truce must be as short as is possible, and must not exceed ten years.