There is no compulsion in religion. This means that Allah has not made the matter of faith one of coercion and force, but rather of empowerment and choice. Similar to His saying, 'And if your Lord had willed, surely all who are on earth would have believed.' So, would you compel people until they become believers? This means that if He had willed, He could have forced them to believe, but He did not do so, and He based the matter on choice. The right path has been made clear from the error. Faith has been distinguished from disbelief by clear evidence. So, whoever disbelieves in [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-taghut] and believes in Allah has certainly held firmly to the strongest bond, which is unbreakable. This is a representation of the known by observation, and inferring from tangible experiences, so that the listener can visualize it as if he is looking at it with his own eyes, thus affirming his belief and certainty in it. It is said that this is a prohibition in meaning, meaning do not compel yourselves in religion. Then some said: It has been abrogated by His saying, 'Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be harsh with them.' Others said: It is specifically regarding the People of the Book, as they fortified themselves by paying the jizyah. It has been narrated that there was an Ansari from Banu Salim bin Awf who had two sons who converted to Christianity before the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was sent. They then came to Medina, and their father insisted, saying: By Allah, I will not let you go until you submit. They refused, so they brought their case to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. The Ansari said: O Messenger of Allah, will part of me enter the Fire while I look on? Then this verse was revealed. He freed them. [This was narrated by Al-Wahidi in his reasons from the saying of Masruq, and likewise by Al-Baghawi. Al-Tabari narrated from the narration of Abu Ishaq from Muhammad bin Abu Muhammad from Ikrimah or Said bin Jubair from Ibn Abbas who said: It was revealed concerning a man from the Ansar from Banu Salim bin Awf named Al-Husayn: he had two Christian sons and he was a Muslim, so he said: O Messenger of Allah, should I not compel them? Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, revealed: 'There is no compulsion in religion.' ... the verse.