Sunan Abu Dawud and Sunan al-Nasa'i: Which to Prioritise, and the Status of Non-Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula
Sunan Abu Dawud and Sunan al-Nasa'i: Which Takes Precedence?
What is the preponderant position among Ahl al-Sunnah for giving precedence to which over the other — the Sunan of Abu Dawud and the Sunan of al-Nasa'i?
All are among the important Sunan relied upon by the scholars. The majority give precedence to the Sunan of Abu Dawud over the Sunan of al-Nasa'i, because Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) was more precise in fiqh and arranged [his Sunan] according to the arrangement of the jurists. And he pointed out in certain places the defects of some hadiths and the weakness of some narrators — and sometimes he states this explicitly, and sometimes he gives a signal: where he mentions the connected (mawsul) version and then follows it with the disconnected (mursal) version — as a signal that the connected version is defective and that the disconnected version is the preserved one.
Attention to the Sunan of Abu Dawud together with the Sunan of al-Tirmidhi — meaning the Jami' of al-Tirmidhi — together with the Sunan of al-Nasa'i — this is an important matter that no student of knowledge can do without. These books have been printed today in good, reliable, and important editions. And these books also have numerous commentaries (shuruh), especially the Sunan of Abu Dawud: it has been commented on well — a good commentary on his Sunan is Badhl al-Majhud. The annotations of Ibn al-Qayyim on the Sunan of Abi Dawud — all of these are good, beneficial, and useful commentaries.
As for which to give precedence to — the majority give precedence to Sunan Abi Dawud, as I said. The Sunan of al-Nasa'i is an important matter — it is important and no student of knowledge can do without it. And in it are many defect discussions in al-Kubra. So a person cannot do without these two books.
The Status of Jews and Christians in the Arabian Peninsula
As for what pertains to the Jews and Christians — when do they cease to be protected (musta'minin) or cease to be dhimmis? This question is of course very lengthy, and has been addressed a number of times. The Jews and Christians are not permitted to enter the Arabian Peninsula, because the Messenger ﷺ commanded that they be expelled and that they not enter except with a safe conduct (aman). And the safe conduct is not intended for a day or two — one comes with a message and so on. As for settling and remaining — they are absolutely prevented from that.