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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books An Enlightening Commentary into the Light of the Holy Qur'an vol.

When he said to his sons: 'What will you worship after me? ' They said: ‘We will worship your God and the God of your forefathers Abraham, Ismail and Isaac, the One (true) God (alone) and to Him we do submit'…" 134.

"That is a nation that has passed away; theirs is that, which they have earned, and yours is what you have earned; you shall not be questioned for what they had been doing." Occasion of Revelation A group of the Jews believed that when Jacob (as) was on his deathbed, he enjoined on his children the same religion which the Jews currently believe in (with all its corruption of the scriptures). For the nullification of their belief, Allah sent down this verse.

[^1] Everyone is Responsible for his Own Deem As it is also understood from the apparent meaning of the verse, there were some rejecters of Islam who falsely charged Jacob (as), the prophet of Allah, regarding this matter. (The matter was mentioned in the description of the occasion of revelation.) To reject this false claim, the Qur'an says: "Nay, were you witnesses when death approached Jacob?.." Were you there when he frankly questioned his children the way he did?

Yes, that which you (Jews) charge Jacob (as) with is not true. The factual account which occurred was that: "…When he said to his sons: 'what will you worship after me?'…." "...They said: ‘We will worship your God and the God of your forefathers Abraham, Ismail and Isaac, the One (true) God (alone) and to Him we do submit’. "Yes, he did not enjoin them with anything but to believe in monotheism and to submit to the command of Allah, which is the root of submission to all the Divine ordinances.

It can be deduced from this verse that when Jacob was on his deathbed, a feeling of anxiety and worry existed in him about the future of his children. Finally he expressed his anxiety and asked his sons what they would worship after him.