"So do not obey the disbelievers" in what they forbid you from regarding obedience to Allah, "and strive against them with it," meaning with the Quran. This jihad (striving) with the tongue was before he was commanded to fight them.
﴿فَلَا تُطِع الْكَافرين﴾ فِيمَا يَنْهَوْنَكَ عَنْهُ مِنْ طَاعَةِ الله ﴿وجاهدهم بِهِ﴾ بِالْقُرْآنِ، وَهَذَا الْجِهَادُ بِاللِّسَانِ مِنْ قبل أَن يُؤمر بقتالهم.
