The great medieval scholar Ibn Qayyim (1292-1350) outlines the stages of the Muhammad's prophetic career: "For thirteen years after the beginning of his Messengership, he called people to God through preaching, without fighting or Jizyah, and was commanded to restrain himself and to practice patience and forbearance. Then he was commanded to migrate, and later permission was given to fight. Then he was commanded to fight those who fought him, and to restrain himself from those who did not make war with him. Later he was commanded to fight the polytheists until God's religion was fully established."

In other words, he initially could fight only defensively -- only "those who fought him" -- but later he could fight the polytheists until Islam was "fully established." He could fight them even if they didn't fight him first, and solely because they were not Muslim.

All Very True.