Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:132

• "And enjoined" (wa-awṣā): It is read as awṣā (without the alif), which is the reading in the codices of the people of the Hijaz and the Levant.
• The pronoun in "it" (bihā): It refers to his saying, "I have submitted to the Lord of the worlds," based on the interpretation of the "word" or the "sentence." Similar to this is the return of the pronoun in His saying, "And He made it a lasting word" (Az-Zukhruf: 28), referring back to His saying, "Indeed, I am free from what you worship, except for He who created me" (Az-Zukhruf: 26-27). The phrase "a lasting word" is evidence that the feminine pronoun refers to the interpretation of the "word."
• "And Jacob" (wa-Yaʿqūb): This is a conjunction linked to "Abraham," falling under the same ruling. The meaning is: Jacob also enjoined his sons with it.
• Another reading: It is read as wa-Yaʿqūba (in the accusative case), as a conjunction linked to "his sons." The meaning then is: Abraham enjoined his sons and his grandson, Jacob, with it.

"O my sons..."

• According to the Basrans, this implies an omitted verb of saying. According to the Kufans, it relates to "enjoined" because it carries the meaning of "saying." Similar to this is the poet's saying: "Two men from Dabba informed us [that] we saw a naked man." The hamza is broken (inna), implying the verb "to say." According to us and them, it relates to the verb of informing. In the reading of Ubayy and Ibn Masʿūd, it is "that, O my sons" (an yā baniyya).

"He has chosen for you the religion..."

• He has given you the religion which is the elite of all religions, which is the religion of Islam, and He has granted you success in adhering to it.

"So do not die..."

• The meaning is: Let your death not occur except while you are steadfast upon Islam. The prohibition, in reality, is against being in a state other than Islam when you die. It is like your saying, "Do not pray unless you are humble." You are not forbidding the prayer itself, but rather the lack of humility during the prayer.
• If you ask: What is the point of placing the prohibition on the prayer when it is not what is being forbidden?
• I say: The point is to demonstrate that a prayer without humility is as if it were no prayer at all. It is as if He said: "I forbid you from it if you do not perform it in this state." Do you not see the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "There is no prayer for the neighbor of the mosque except in the mosque"? This is like explicitly saying to the neighbor of the mosque: "Do not pray except in the mosque."
• The meaning in the verse is the same: to show that a death not in a state of steadfastness upon Islam is a death in which there is no good, that it is not the death of the fortunate, and that such a death is unworthy of them. You also say in the imperative: "Die as a martyr." You do not intend to command them to die, but rather to be in the state of the martyrs when they die. You only commanded them to die to emphasize the nature of that death, to show its superiority over others, and that it is worthy of being encouraged.