Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 403
— Part IV 394 And when he was old enough to work with him, he said, 'O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you. So consider, what you think of it !' He replied, 'O my father, do as you are commanded; you will find me, if Allah please, of those who are patient. ' (S u rah al- Sa ff a t; Ch. 37: V. 103) Remember that Hadrat Ibr a h i m as saw this dream during the early childhood of Hadrat Ismael as. In fulfillment of that dream he had taken Hadrat Ha jirah and Hadrat Ismael as to the buried remains of the Kh a na Kaaba and left them alone in a desert land which had no water or greenery. In fact, this was the interpretation of the dream which he had already fulfilled then. Yet he had a disquieting feeling in his heart, wondering if the dream had to be realized literally. Despite this, he did not consider it permissible to slaughter his own son without receiving his prior consent. So when Hadrat Ismael as grew old enough to become mature of mind, only then did he inquire from him. This implies that as a principle, it is required that when parents dedicate their own children, they cannot implement their decision until the children have grown to maturity and have shown their own