So when he reached the point of being able to strive with his father in his work and needs. If you say: What does 'with him' relate to? I say: It must relate either to 'reached', or to 'strive', or to something omitted. It cannot relate to 'reached' because it requires both of them to have reached the limit of striving, nor to 'strive' because the connection of the source cannot precede it. So it remains that it is an explanation, as if when he said: So when he reached the striving, meaning the limit at which he is able to strive, it was asked: With whom? He said: With his father. The meaning of specifying the father is that he is the most accommodating of people to him and the most compassionate towards him. Others might be harsh with him in urging him to strive, which he cannot bear, because his strength had not yet matured and his back had not yet become firm, as he was then thirteen years old. The intended meaning is that despite his tender age and his transition in the limits of childhood, he possessed such maturity of understanding and breadth of heart that enabled him to bear that great trial and respond with that wise answer: He came in a dream and it was said to him: Sacrifice your son. And the visions of the prophets are revelation like revelation in wakefulness. Therefore, he said: 'Indeed, I see in the dream that I am sacrificing you.' He mentioned the interpretation of the vision, just as a person being tested might say after seeing that he is riding in a ship: I saw in the dream that I am saved from this trial. It is said that he saw on the night of Tarwiyah as if someone was saying to him: Indeed, Allah commands you to sacrifice this son of yours. So when he awoke, he pondered over that from the morning until the evening: Is this dream from Allah or from the devil?

For this reason, it was called the Day of Tarwiyah. Then when evening came, he saw something similar, so he recognized that it was from Allah. For this reason, it was called the Day of Arafah. Then he saw something similar on the third night, and he intended to sacrifice him, so it was called the Day of Sacrifice. It is said that when the angels gave him the glad tidings of a wise boy, he said: Then he is the sacrifice of Allah. When he was born and reached the limit of striving with him, it was said to him: Fulfill your vow and see what you perceive of the opinion in consultation. And it was read: What do you see? [The phrase 'And it was read: What do you see?' may be with the 'ta' in the nominative and the 'ra' in the genitive, from 'ara' to show him, so it should be clarified.] That is: What do you perceive of your opinion and express. And 'What do you see' is in the passive form, meaning: What does your soul show you of the opinion? Do what you are commanded, meaning what you are commanded to do, so the preposition is omitted as it was omitted in the saying: I commanded you to do good, so do what I commanded you to do.

Or it is a command regarding the addition of the source to the object, and naming what is commanded as a command. And it was read: What you are commanded to do. If you say: Why did he consult him in a matter that is a command from Allah? I say: He did not consult him to return to his opinion and consultation, but to know what he has regarding the calamity that has befallen him from Allah, to strengthen his resolve and to be patient if he is anxious, and to ensure he does not falter if he is patient and submits. And to make him aware so that he may reflect upon himself and prepare himself and make it easy for him, and to face the calamity as if he is accustomed to it, and to earn reward by submitting to the command of Allah before its descent. And because the act of slaughtering is something that is not pleasing, and to establish a precedent in consultation, it has been said: If Adam had consulted the angels regarding eating from the tree, that would not have happened.

If you say: Why was that in a dream and not in wakefulness? I say: Just as Yusuf saw his parents and brothers prostrating to him in a dream without revelation to his father, and just as the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was promised entry into the Sacred Mosque in a dream, and other dreams of the prophets. This is to strengthen the evidence of their truthfulness, because the state is either a state of wakefulness or a state of sleep. If both states agree on the truth, that is a stronger indication than the isolation of one of them.