Spread by the sword?

Shaykh Abdul-Aziz ibn Baz

هل نسخت آية السيف آية {لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ}؟

AI translation, check the Arabic original

قيل: منسوخة. وقيل: إنها في أهل الكتاب خاصةً. فيها قولان: أحدهما أنها في أهل الكتاب والمجوس، لا يُكرهون، بل يُخيرون بين الإسلام والجزية، فإن لم يُؤدوا الجزيةَ ولا الإسلام قُوتلوا، وأما بقية الناس فلا تخيير: إما الإسلام، وإما السيف. وقال آخرون: بل هي منسوخة، كان هذا أول الأمر، ثم شرع الله القتال والجهاد؛ لقوله سبحانه: وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّى لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ الدِّينُ كُلُّهُ لِلَّهِ [الأنفال:39]، فنُسخت بهذه الآية وما جاء في معناها.

It was said: it is abrogated. And it was said: it applies specifically to the People of the Book. There are two sayings regarding it: one of them is that it is regarding the People of the Book and the Zoroastrians (Majoos): they are not compelled, but rather given the choice between Islam and the jizyah; if they neither pay the jizyah nor accept Islam, they are fought. As for the rest of the people, there is no choice: either Islam or the sword. Others said: rather, it is abrogated; this was at the beginning of the matter, then Allah legislated fighting and jihad, due to the saying of the Exalted: 'And fight them until there is no fitnah and the religion is all for Allah' [Al-Anfal:39]. So it was abrogated by this verse and what comes in its meaning.

The scholar's own words in Arabic (short quote)

binbaz.org.sa, fatwa 31487