how could Abu have peace
Answers
‘Abou Ben Adhem‘ by James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784-1859) is a literary gem based on the spirit of Fraternity. First published in The Amulet (1834) by S.C Hall, the poem is Hunt’s rendering of a divine encounter between an angel and the Sufi mystic, Ibrahim Bin Adham.
This is a narrative poem, where Hunt uses the storytelling technique to convey a profound reflection — Loving one’s fellowmen is perhaps more virtuous, if not at par, with loving the Almighty Himself.
Incidentally, the poem draws from Arabian lore, where in the Islamic month of Nous Sha’aban, God takes the golden book of mankind and chooses those dear to Him who He will call in the coming year. Thus indirectly, this is also a poem about a ‘blessed death’. It is a fitting tribute then, that the verse “Write me as one who loves his fellow men” came to be used in Hunt’s epitaph.
The legend of ‘Abou Ben Adhem’, was picked up by Hunt from a French book, the Bibliothèque Orientale (1697). Hunt’s choice of subject and setting – an Arabian tale with idealistic and supernatural overtones – is an example of Romantic Orientalism. Against this backdrop, the otherworldly quality of the poem is enhanced.