way contradictory of the commandment to fight for the Islamic mission or any other cause. This is regardless of whether the verse was revealed before or after the sword verse.

(٣٢) When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks; then, when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds; then set them free, either by grace or ransom. (Q. ٤٧:٤)

A group of scholars maintains that this verse was abrogated by the sword verse, while others believe that the sword verse was abrogated by [this verse]. ١٤٣ The fact is that it was neither abrogated nor an abrogator, and this conclusion needs to be explained in some detail.

The Rules Pertaining to the Disbelievers Who Are at War

The prevailing view among Imamite Shiites is that it is incumbent to kill the disbe‌ liever (kafir) at war as long as he does not submit. This obligation is not replaced by imprisonment except when the believers weaken the disbelievers, and the latter be‌ come incapable of fighting because of the large [number of] casualties among them. However, if the disbeliever submits, the reason for killing him would end. As for imprisonment after being weakened, here, too, the duty to kill is stayed. The reason is that [Q. ٤٧:٤] regards the weakening of the enemy as the object of the injunction to slay them.
It is evident that the injunction is stayed when the purpose is achieved. At that
point the Muslim authority has•a choice between enslaving the prisoner or exchang‌ ing him for a Muslim prisoner. In either case there is no difference between an idola‌ ter and other groups of disbelievers. The scholars have claimed a consensus on what we have delineated so far. The opposition to these rules is rare indeed, and it hardly affects their soundness. We will further demonstrate it later.
This explanation is regarded as being in conformity with the apparent sense of the verse from every point of view, assuming, however, that "tie fast the bonds" means to enslave in the sense of "cutting a person off from independence" until he is exchanged or set free by grace. However, if "tie fast the bonds" does not mean enslavement, then it is necessary to consider enslavement as being implied along with setting one free by grace and ransom, for we know this to be permitted from other evidence. Hence, this functions as a restriction to the general meaning of the verse.
These rules have been discussed in the tradition related by al-Kulayni and Shaykh al-Tusi, both of whom trace it back to Tali}a b. Zayd and, through him, to the Imam al- adiq.

I heard the Imam say: "My father [the Imam al-Baqir] used to say that war has two governing principles: If the war is still raging and has not come to an end, and if the enemy has not been weakened, any prisoner taken in that condition is entirely at the Imams discretion: He can have him beheaded, or [can] alternately cut off his hands and feet without severing them from his body, and leave him stranded in his blood until he dies. This is in accordance with what God, the Exalted, said: