The Validity of Accepting Islam Based on an Invalid Condition (صحة الإسلام مع الشرط الفاسد)
There are narrations showing the Prophet (peace be upon him) accepting the Islam of some kuffar, despite them converting based on preconditions deemed to be invalid, such as the refusal to give Zakah, participate in Jihad, perform all five prayers, etc.[1]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) did this with the expectation that the kuffar would, with time, eventually fully submit to all of Islam’s dictates.[2]
Some scholars opined that the Prophet (peace be upon him) knew the unseen on this matter, since he made the affirmative statement, “Later on they will give sadaqah (zakat) and will strive in the way of Allah when they embrace Islam,” and that is why he agreed to these terms. Moreover, Jihad and Zakah were not immediately deemed obligatory for them at that instant since one year had to pass for Zakah to be paid, and there was no immediate requirement for them to partake in Jihad.[3]
The same applies to the narration about the Prophet (peace be upon him) willing to accept the Islam of some kuffar who did not wish to perform all five compulsory prayers. The expectation was that they would eventually come to love Islam wholeheartedly and perform all the prayers.[4] Keeping any debates surrounding this narration’s authenticity aside, the point is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not prevent anyone from accepting Islam even if such invalid conditions were interlinked with their acceptance, as stated by Ibn Rajab. However, at the same time, this was not something open-ended either.[5]
When it comes to these invalid conditions stipulated by some of these kuffar before converting, they are not to be understood as them hating and rejecting parts of the religion such as Zakah and Jihad, but are rather to be understood in light of this ayah from the Qur’an: “Fighting is prescribed for you, and you dislike it.” (2:216).
In other words, they were still too weak to fully embrace, in practice, all the dictates Islam came with at that point, while recognizing that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a true messenger sent by Allah سبحانه وتعالى.
Also, it is important to bear in mind that this temporary ‘leniency’ was only afforded to kuffar contemplating conversion to the deen. We all know what Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) did to those whom much after converting refused to pay Zakah.
When it comes to this principle, some people today have unfortunately misused it to justify making all sorts of compromises in the name of the deen by accommodating the baseless whims and desires of not only kuffar, but Muslims weak in faith (or deviant in ideology) as well. They have done so without any boundaries, nor any real medium to long-term plan on ensuring that those converts and Muslims do not settle on remaining Muslims based on these invalid conditions.
This is yet another unfortunate example of how fiqh has been so grossly misused to cater to the convenience and whims of others.
[1] See https://sunnah.com/abudawud:3025 and https://dorar.net/hadith/search?q=%D9%81%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%8E%D9%85%D9%8E+%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89+%D8%A3%D9%86%D9%92+%D9%8A%D9%8F%D8%B5%D9%84%D9%90%D9%91%D9%8A%D9%8E+%D8%B5%D9%8E%D9%84%D9%8E%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%90&st=a&xclude=
[2] Ibn Rajab, in his Jaami’ al-‘Ulum wal-Hikam, stated that this is the stance of Imam Ahmad and that this was done in order to soften the hearts of non-Muslims in order that they accept Islam, and they would then be obliged to accept all of Islam’s dictates:
وأخذ الإمام أحمد بهذه الأحاديث وقال يصح الإسلام على الشرط الفاسد، ثم يلزم شرائع الإسلام كلها، ولا يخفى أن هذا فيمن يراد تأليفه على الإسلام من غير المسلمين.
[3] See Imam al-Khattabi’s comments in his commentary of Sunan Abu Dawud, vol. 3, pp. 3-35.
[4] See Shaykh ‘Abdulmohsin Al-‘Abbad’s commentary on Imam an-Nawawi’s forty ahadith, vol. 15, p. 11
[5] For example, Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qasim in his Kitab Al-Amwal, vol. 1, pp. 300-301 mentions how the Prophet (peace be upon him) refused to accept the Islam of those who stated they would convert on the condition that riba, zina, and khamr be made halal for them. They eventually did convert later on though.