The Prophet (peace be upon him) offered it to them to discern their weakness from their strength; had it not been permissible during times of weakness, he would not have offered it to them.

Section: It is not permissible to contract a truce or a dhimma (covenant of protection) except by the Imam or his deputy. This is because it is a contract with the totality of the disbelievers, which is not within the authority of anyone else. Furthermore, it pertains to the discretion of the Imam and the considerations of public interest, as we have previously stated. Additionally, permitting it without the Imam entails the total abandonment of jihad, or its abandonment in that specific region, and constitutes an act of insubordination against the Imam. If someone other than the Imam or his deputy concludes a truce with them, it is not valid. If some of them enter the Abode of Islam based on such a treaty, they are safe because they entered believing in a state of security; however, they shall be returned to the Abode of War and not permitted to remain in the Abode of Islam, because the guarantee of safety was not validly concluded. If the Imam concludes a truce and then dies or is deposed, the treaty is not nullified; those who succeed him are obligated to fulfill it, because the Imam concluded it based on his ijtihad (legal reasoning), and it is not permitted for the successor to invalidate the rulings of his predecessor based on his own ijtihad. When he concludes a truce, he is obligated to fulfill it, according to the words of Allah the Exalted: "O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts" (26), and His saying: "So fulfill to them their treaty until their term" (27). Furthermore, if he were not to fulfill it, there would be no trust in his contracts, and he might have need of contracting them. If they break the contract (28), it is permissible to fight them, according to the words of Allah the Exalted: "And if they break their oaths after their treaty and defame your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief, for indeed, there are no oaths [binding] among them so that they might cease" (29), and His saying: "So as long as they are upright toward you, be upright toward them" (30). When the Quraysh broke their treaty with the Prophet (peace be upon him), he went out to them, fought them, and conquered Mecca (31). If some of them break the treaty while others do not, and the remaining party remains silent regarding the violators, without expressing disapproval, communicating with the Imam, or disavowing [the action], then all of them are considered violators. This is because when the Prophet (peace be upon him) made a truce with the Quraysh, the Khuza'a entered into the treaty with the Prophet (peace be upon him), and the Banu Bakr entered with the Quraysh. Then the Banu Bakr aggressed against the Khuza'a, aided by some of the Quraysh, while the rest remained silent. That was considered a violation of their treaty, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) marched against them and fought them. Moreover, their silence indicates their approval, just as the conclusion of a truce with some of them includes all of them because their silence denotes their approval; likewise, this applies to the violation.