I say (the speaker is al-Khaṭṭābī): This applies when the covenant and protection are granted by him to some of the unbelievers, not to their entirety. For it is not permissible for him to grant a pledge of safety to their whole community; rather, the matter of granting safety and concluding a covenant for all of them rests with the Imam, by way of independent reasoning (ijtihād) and seeking what serves the public interest, and no one else.

If ordinary people and individuals were permitted to conclude covenants for all the unbelievers whenever they wished, that would become a means to nullify jihad, and that is not permissible.

As for his saying: "And they are one hand against those who are not them," the meaning of "hand" is mutual aid and support: when they are called to mobilize, mobilization is incumbent upon them; when they are called for reinforcement, they respond, neither falling behind nor failing one another.

And "al-mushidd" is the one who strengthens, while "al-muḍʿif" is the one whose mounts are weak.

We say: Ibn al-Athīr said: al-mushidd is the one whose mounts are strong and sturdy, and al-muḍʿif is the one whose mounts are weak, meaning that the strong among the fighters shares with the weak in what he gains from the spoils.

Al-Khaṭṭābī said: It is related in some versions of the hadith: "The muḍʿif is the commander of the company," meaning that the people travel at the pace of the weak one, not advancing ahead of him, lest he fall behind them and be left in a place of ruin.

And "al-mutasarrī" is the one who goes out on a raiding party (sariyya). Its meaning is that an army goes out and halts near the enemy's territory, then a raiding party separates from them and gains spoils; they return what they have gained to those who served as their rear guard, not keeping it exclusively for themselves. But if the raiding party sets out from the town itself, they do not return anything to those who remained in their homelands.

As for his saying: "A believer is not killed for an unbeliever," this includes every unbeliever, whether he has a covenant and protection or has neither covenant nor protection.

And his saying: "Nor one bound by a covenant while in his covenant," for the covenant of the unbelievers is of two kinds:

One: a perpetual covenant, such as one whose blood is spared in return for the jizya.

The other: one who has a covenant for a specified term; when that term expires, his blood becomes permissible again, as it was before.

Some jurists who hold that a Muslim is killed for a dhimmī have interpreted this saying as follows: his statement "Nor one bound by a covenant while in his covenant" is conjoined to his statement "A believer is not killed for an unbeliever," and according to their view, the wording involves fronting and delaying, as if he said: "A believer is not killed for an unbeliever, nor one bound by a covenant while in his covenant." This is the view adopted by the people of opinion (aṣḥāb al-raʾy).