Whoever is a disbeliever residing in the lands of Islam and insults the Prophet, peace be upon him: According to the relied-upon view in the Hanafi school, he is not to be killed unless the Imam sees it as a matter of policy, meaning it is permissible to kill him as a disciplinary measure and for admonition, not as a punishment; because what he is upon in terms of polytheism is greater, and because the reason for killing is disbelief, not specifically the insult. If the insult were the reason, he would be killed as a punishment. This was confirmed by Ibn Abidin in "Tanbih al-Wulat" p. 332, where he said: "The dhimmi can be killed according to us, but not as a punishment, rather as a disciplinary measure, so killing him is not contrary to the school, but as for the nullification of his covenant, that is contrary to the school, according to what is well-known from it in the texts and commentaries." [See: Al-Jawhara Al-Nayyira 2: 276, Durar Al-Hukam 1: 300, Majma' Al-Anhar 1: 677, and Radd Al-Muhtar 4: 234-235]. In the three schools of Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali: it is obligatory to kill him if he does not convert to Islam; because he has not been given the protection and covenant on this basis. It was narrated from Abdullah ibn Ka'b ibn Malik that he said: "Ka'b ibn Al-Ashraf used to insult the Prophet, peace be upon him, and incite the disbelievers of Quraysh against him. When the Prophet, peace be upon him, arrived in Medina, its inhabitants were a mixture of Muslims and polytheists who worshipped idols and Jews, and they used to harm the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his companions. So Allah, the Exalted, commanded His Prophet to be patient and to forgive. In them, Allah revealed: (And you will surely hear from those who were given the Scripture before you and from those who associate others with Allah much abuse. But if you are patient and fear Allah - indeed, that is of the matters [requiring] determination), Al-Imran: 186. So when Ka'b ibn Al-Ashraf refused to cease harming the Prophet, peace be upon him, the Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, may Allah be pleased with him, to send a group to kill him. He sent Muhammad ibn Maslama, and he mentioned the story of his killing. When they killed him...", in Sunan Abu Dawood 2: 169. And from Jabir, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Who will take care of Ka'b ibn Al-Ashraf?" Muhammad ibn Maslama said: "Do you want me to kill him?" He said: "Yes." He said: "Then give me permission to say..." He said: "You have done it," in Sahih Al-Bukhari 3: 1103. And it was narrated that "Al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayyah, who was a governor over Al-Yamamah, was presented with two singing women, one of whom sang an insult against the Prophet, peace be upon him, so he cut off her hand and removed her front tooth, and the other sang against the Muslims, so he cut off her hand and removed her front tooth. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote to him: 'I have heard what you did to the woman who sang an insult against the Prophet, peace be upon him. If it were not for what you preceded me in, I would have commanded you to kill her; because the punishment for the prophets is not like other punishments. Whoever engages in that from a Muslim is an apostate, or if he is a covenant, he is a treacherous combatant... And beware of mutilating people, for it is a sin and causes aversion, except in retribution,' in "Tareekh Al-Khulafa" by Al-Suyuti p. 87. Al-Khattabi said: "Malik said: Whoever insults the Prophet, peace be upon him, from the Jews and Christians is killed, unless he converts to Islam. Ahmad said the same, and Al-Shafi'i said: The dhimmi is killed if he insults the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his covenant is nullified, and he cited the narration of Ka'b ibn Al-Ashraf as evidence." Al-Qadi Iyad said in "Al-Shifa" 2: 223: "As for the dhimmi who explicitly insults or belittles him or describes him in a way that he disbelieved, there is no disagreement among us regarding killing him if he does not convert to Islam; because we did not give him protection and a covenant on this basis. This is the view of the majority of scholars except for Abu Hanifa, Al-Thawri, and their followers from the people of Kufa, who said: He is not killed; because what he is upon in terms of polytheism is greater, but he is to be disciplined and admonished. Imam Al-Subki said: "I do not know of any disagreement among those who say he should be killed from the three schools of Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali, meaning that his repentance is not valid while he remains in disbelief. As for if he converts to Islam, there is disagreement in all three schools...". And see: Tafsir Al-Qurtubi 8: 76, Al-Tamhid 6: 168, Awn Al-Mabud 12: 11, Al-Sarim Al-Maslul p. 10, and Ahkam Ahl Al-Dhimmah 3: 1398, and Al-Shifa 2: 188]. There have been independent works written on the ruling of insulting the Prophet, peace be upon him, including: "The Drawn Sword Against Whoever Insults the Prophet, peace be upon him" by Al-Taqi Al-Subki (d. 756 AH), "The Drawn Sword Against the Insulter of the Messenger" by Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH), and "The Admonition of Governors and Rulers on the Rulings of Insulting the Best of Mankind or One of His Noble Companions" by Ibn Abidin (d. 1252 AH). Whoever eats food and then says: "Praise be to Allah who has fed me this food and provided it for me without any power or strength from me," will his previous sins be forgiven? Yes, his previous sins will be forgiven by the testimony of the Prophet, peace be upon him; as it was narrated from Sahl ibn Mu'adh ibn Anas from his father who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever eats food and says: 'Praise be to Allah who has fed me this and provided it for me without any power or strength from me,' his previous sins will be forgiven," in Sunan Al-Tirmidhi 5: 508, and he said: This is a good and strange hadith, and in Sunan Ibn Majah 2: 1093, and Sunan Al-Darimi 2: 378, and in Sunan Abu Dawood 2: 440 with the addition of "and what is to come."