Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:132

(And Abraham enjoined it upon his sons): This is a commendation for him—peace be upon him—for perfecting others, following the commendation of his own perfection within himself. It serves as an emphasis for the existence of the desire for his creed. "Enjoining" (al-tawṣiyah) is the act of advising others to perform an act involving goodness and nearness to God, whether it occurs during the state of approaching death or otherwise, and whether the advice is through speech or indication, although in common parlance it is specifically used for the particular speech given at the time of death. Its root is "connection" (al-waṣl), from the saying "a land is wāṣiyah"—meaning its vegetation is connected. It is said: "He enjoined him (waṣṣāhu)" if he connected with him, and "he separated him (faṣṣāhu)" if he cut him off; as if the one enjoining connects his action with the action of the one enjoined.

The pronoun in (it - bihā) refers either to the "creed" (al-millah) or to his statement (I have submitted), interpreting the word or the sentence as such. The former is supported by the fact that the referent is mentioned explicitly, and the preference for using an explicit noun rather than a pronoun. Likewise, the conjunction of (Jacob) to him indicates that this is a commencement of another discourse to clarify the mutual enjoining of the prophets to adhere to the true religion—which encompasses all fundamental and branch laws—so that they might inherit the upright creed and the straight path, generation after generation. Jacob mentioned the religion in his injunction to his sons, and it and the creed are synonymous. If the pronoun referred to the second, it would be "Islam" in its place. The second view is supported by the fact that the object of the injunction is verbally identical to (I have submitted), and the proximity of the noun being conjoined; for in that case, it would be conjoined to (said: I have submitted), meaning: He did not suffice with personal compliance, but added to it the enjoining of his sons to submit. This is contrary to the first interpretation, where it is conjoined to "who would desire" (man yarghabu), which, as we indicated, carries the meaning of negation.

He chose the sons because he was most compassionate toward them, and they were the most deserving of accepting his advice, and the benefit derived through them is greater. Nafi’ and Ibn ‘Amir read awṣā (without the doubling of the 'ṣād'); it does not imply intensification as the first one does, which indicates it through the taf’īl form.

And Jacob: This is conjoined to Abraham, and its nominative case is due to it being an initial subject (mubtada') with the predicate omitted—meaning: "and Jacob [did] likewise." The sentence is conjoined to the verbal sentence. To make it the agent of "enjoined" (as a pronoun) is far-fetched. It was also read in the accusative case, making it conjoined to (his sons). The meaning of "his sons" refers to his immediate progeny.

He (Abraham) was a nāfilah (an additional gift/grandson). He was named Jacob because he and 'Iṣ were twins; 'Iṣ came out first, and Jacob followed, holding onto his heel. Thus it is narrated from Ibn Abbas, though I do not consider it authentic.

"O my sons": This implies an elided verb of speech according to the Basrians. It is estimated in the singular form if Jacob is in the accusative (i.e., "saying"), and in the dual form if in the nominative. The occurrence of a sentence after speech is conditional upon the intent being merely to recount it, and the speech being recounted is shared between Abraham and Jacob, even if the addressees in both instances are different. The Kufans held that there is no elision, because the injunction—due to its containing the meaning of speech, or rather being a specific form of speech—has the same ruling, thus allowing the sentence to occur within the scope of its object. Ibn Mas‘ūd—may Allah be pleased with him—read: An yā bunayya ("That, O my sons"). In this case, there is no need for estimating speech according to the Basrians; in fact, it is not permissible for them, as indicated by the words of some researchers.

The sons of Abraham, according to al-Itqān, are twelve: Ishmael, Isaac, Midian, Zamzan, Saraḥ, Naqsh, Naqshān, Amīm, Kaysān, Sūraj, Lūṭān, and Nāfis. The sons of Jacob are also twelve: Joseph, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin.

"Allah has chosen for you the religion": meaning, He has made for you the religion which is the elite of religions, by legislating it for you and granting you success to adopt it. The intent is the religion of Islam, which entails sincerity to Allah the Exalted and surrender to Him. The intent is not the outward appearance that Allah has made it the elite of religions for you, for this religion is elite in itself, has no exclusivity to anyone, and there is no other religion before Allah. From this, it is known that "Islam" is applied to religions other than our own, but convention has restricted it to ours. Some have claimed it is not applied [to others], and wrote a treatise on that, laboring over it with extreme effort.

"So do not die except while you are Muslims": This forbids being characterized by the opposite of the state of Islam at the time of death. The superficial understanding of the verse implies a prohibition against dying in a state other than that, but this is not the intended meaning because it is not within one's power. Rather, what is within one's power is the restriction [of the state], and the prohibition reverts to that, as you have heard. This is because abstaining from being characterized by that state [of disbelief/disobedience] necessitates abstaining from dying in that state. Either the term established for the first (the state of Islam) is used for the second (death in that state), thus making it a metaphor; or the term is used in its original meaning to transition from it to its prerequisite, making it metonymy (kināyah). The learned Yemeni said: This is a metonymy by negating the essence to negate the state, contrary to what was said regarding His saying: (How can you disbelieve in Allah), which is a metonymy by negating the state to negate the essence. The objection to this is that the negation of the essence only becomes a metonymy for the negation of all attributes, not for a specific attribute—so understand this. The objective of the command hinted at by this prohibition is steadfastness upon Islam, because that is its necessary requirement and the purpose of the injunction; and because the origin of Islam was already attained by them. The negative particle was introduced to the verb, even though it is not [the act of dying] that is forbidden, to signify that their death while not upon Islam is a death in which there is no good, that it is incumbent upon them that it should not befall them, and that they must beware of it with the utmost caution. Some have mentioned that the Islam commanded here is that which is of the heart, not the deeds of the limbs, because the latter is nearly impossible at the moment of death. This is why it came in the Hadith: "O Allah, whoever among us You grant life, grant them life upon Islam, and whoever among us You take in death, take them in death upon Faith." The implication of this is not hidden.