المعنى الاصطلاحي :

A land of disbelief whose people made a truce with Muslims with or without a compensation, depending on the public interest of the Muslims.

الشرح المختصر :

"Dār al-‘ahd" (land of the covenant) is any land of which the Muslim leader made a truce with its people which stipulates that the land remains in their possession and that the Muslims are entitled to a tribute. It is also called "dār muwāda‘ah" (land of peace), "dār sulh" :(land of truce), and "dār mu‘āhadah" (land of treaty). The relationship between the people of such a land and the Muslims is a relationship of peace, truce, and agreement, so it is not permissible to wage war against it since its people enjoy a truce with the Muslims. It is the duty of the Muslim leader to prevent both Muslims and non-Muslim "Dhimmi" (specific individuals living in Muslim lands who were granted special status and safety in Islamic law in return for paying the "jizyah" [capital tax]) subjects from causing harm or nuisance to the people of a "dār al-‘ahd" because they are rightful beneficiaries of safety on their lives and their property by ratifying the truce. This covenant or peace treaty is not binding and is susceptible to be reversed. But if it stipulates that the land conforms to the law of Islam, it would then be a binding contract which is not susceptible to be reversed from our side, because the type of contract in this form is the "Dhimmah" contract, and the land is considered a "dār al-Islam" by conforming to the law of Islam.