بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
We begin in the name of Allah, the Majestic, and we invoke Him to send peace and blessings upon our beloved guide and master Muhammad ﷺ who was sent with the Guiding Book and the Supporting Sword to establish the truth upon mankind.
I was asked to write some thoughts on the ''ideal Islamic state'' and who is to be ''tolerated in such an Islamic state'' and thus it is upon us to reply and to convey the religion like it has been passed down from generation to generation from the time of the Messenger ﷺ to his companions to their students to their students as understood by the noble jurists, reaching us now in an unbroken chain of transmission, for indeed this is a mighty affair. It is not upon us to hide, twist, negate or deny any part of the religion and neither are we from those who say ''such rulings were only for 1400 years ago'', nay, rather, the Shari'ah i.e. the Revealed Law, is till the Last Hour.
I will keep this short and concise for I do not want to tire the people with our words but we must start with disclaimers the we, the people of truth, are not advocates of any indiscriminate violence/suicide bombings/random vigilante/terrorist attacks on random civilians, and we ask Allah to rectify or purify our ranks from those who engage in such actions, which only cause much harm and unnecessary destruction!
In regards to those who can be tolerated in a land ruled by Islam, then this discussion returns to what the classical jurists mentioned about Jihad al-Talab (offensive warfare) to expand the borders of the religion so that the da'wah could reach the disbelievers and give them a chance to accept and save their hereafter from burning in hellfire for eternity. All classical jurists agree (as understood from the Qur'an and Sunna) that offensive warfare against the land of disbelievers is fard kifayah (communal obligation) which should be launched by the ruler of the Muslims by dispatching the armies, as the hanafi jurist Imam al-Quduri in his al-Mukhtasar mentions ''Jihad is a collective obligation...'' and ''...fighting disbelievers is obligatory, even if they they do not initiate it.'', similarly it is also mentioned in the Risalah of Imam Ibn Zayd al-Qayrawani, ''...Jihad is an obligation which can be taken on by some of the people on behalf of others.'' This is sufficient for this discussion as all schools of jurisprudence (Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis) are in agreement that expansionist warfare against the people of disbelief is obligatory on a communal level, to spread the religion throughout the world.
In regards to the procedure of warfare, then Imam al-Quduri (as also mentioned by other jurists) summarized it, ''When Muslims enter the territory of war (darul harb) and they lay siege to a city or a fort, they invite to Islam. If (i.e. the disbelievers of that place) accept them, desist from fighting them, but if they decline (i.e. remain upon their disbelief), call them to pay jizya. If they give it (i.e. the jizyah), then they have (i.e. the legal right) whatever the Muslims have, and (legal duties) due on them are whatever are due on the [the Muslims]. It is not permitted to fight those whom the invitation of Islam has not reached, except after the [Muslims] have invited them to (Islam). It is recommended to invite those whom the invitation of Islam has [already] reached [before fighting them], but that is not obligatory.''
In regards to the rulings of combat in warfare, then the Imam mentions, ''The Muslims are required not to be treacherous, act unfaithfully in taking from the spoils, mutilate or kill; a woman, a minor, an enfeebled old man, the blind or the disabled, unless any of these [persons] are people who have insight into war or the woman is a queen and the insane are not to be killed [either].'' Furthermore, the illustrious Hanafi jurist, Imam Ibn al-Humam in Fath al-Qadeer mentions that ''..and they should not kill a woman, a child, senile elderly, a chair-bound individual (i.e. handicapped), a blind person...'' The Maliki jurist, Imam Ibn Zayd al-Qayrawani also mentions the prohibition of (intentionally targeting) killing women and children in Risalah alongside the mentioning how monks and priests [in their cloisters] should be avoided unless they are involved in the fighting and this is also similar in the case of the woman who is involved in the fighting. (Those who are left over after the Muslims are victorious such as the women and children, they are to be enslaved as they are war booty and must be distributed by the Imam to the fighters)
In regards to the certain differences the classical jurists had discussed among themselves, then these were on the rulings of who is to be fought by the Muslims. Most of them agreed that the pagans of Arabia were fought with the sword without the payment of jizya as only Islam was accepted from them and this was one of the reasons as to why the Arabian Peninsula was purified from shirk (polytheism), all praises to Allah. The four schools of jurisprudence agreed that the people of the book such as the christians and jews would be given the choice of giving the jizya to become a dhimmi under the dominance of Islam whilst also generally agreeing to treat the zoroastrians in a similar fashion. However, in regards to the pagans/polytheists outside Arabia, this is where the jurists differed. Generally speaking, the Hanafis and Malikis held the view that the pagans/idol worshipers/polytheists outside Arabia were also given the choice of jizya to live under the dominance of Islam, but according to the Shafi's and Hanbalis, they argued that jizya cannot be taken from these people outside Arabia and thus they must accept Islam or be fought. Throughout history, in the various empires and dynasties of the Muslims, it was usually the Hanafi position that was adopted by the rulers when they conquered a land.
In regards to the dhimmi status, then those who were brought under the dominance of Islam would give the jizya whilst subdued. The dhimmis are not afforded the complete rights of the Muslims and the wisdom of this is that so it gives the disbelievers an incentive to accept Islam. Imam al-Quduri mentions ''...there is no jizyah due from women, minors, the chronically ill, the unemployed poor, or [hermit] monks who do not mix with the people.'', ''...It is not permitted to build a new synagogue or church in the Muslim lands, but when old synagogues fall and churches fall into ruin, they rebuild them. Ahl al-Dhimma (non-Muslims living under Muslim rule i.e. whose life and property is protected as long as he doesn't breach the contract by for example waging war against the Muslims) are required to preserve a distinction from the Muslims in their dress, their mounts, their saddles, and their headgear. They do not mount horses or bear arms.'' It is also commonly known that the disbelievers cannot proselytize and call to their religion, celebrate their religious festivals openly, ring their bells, or openly display their manifestations and symbols of shirk infront of the Muslims. It is also commonly known that apostates who announce their apostasy openly, blasphemers who insult Allah, His Messenger ﷺ, His Prophets and Messengers in general, can never be tolerated. One can refer to the glorious book of al-Imam al-Qadi Iyyad al-Maliki titled ''Al-Shifa bi Ta'rif Huquq al-Mustafa'' (the last section) on the judgement of the one who insults Allah and His Messenger ﷺ who summarized all of the legal positions on this matter.
Ultimately, the land ruled by Islam is established to make Tawhid (the worship of Allah alone) uppermost above all else, for Islam is always elevated and never brought low. It is a land where the Shari'ah is established and everyone is treated according to what they deserve on account of their belief. We know justice from the Revealed Law which is from Allah, the Majestic and not from our own whims and desires. A land which ensures that disbelievers can easily transition from their darkness of disbelief to the light of Islam without harm to save their eternity from the hellfire which will never perish!
This was completed in the early hours of 3rd of Dhu al-Qa'dah, 1441 years after the blessed migration of the beloved Messenger ﷺ. I ask Allah to accept these small efforts from me in clarifying the truth of this mighty affair in a time when people have spread lies and doubts about the religion and I supplicate to Allah that He raises the ranks of the noble jurists who conveyed this religion to the people in every generation! I ask the Muslims to pray for this poor slave who is in need of the mercy of Allah and to pray for the religion to be victorious and uppermost and to give us death upon faith for there is no greater victory than dying as a slave acceptable to the Creator. Amin.