Summary of the poem Abu b en adem
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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.
Abu Ben Adhem was a religious person. One night when he was sleeping peacefully in his room, a sparkling light woke him up.
He found out that this bright light was due to the presence of an angel who was writing something in a golden book. Being a pious man, Abu was not afraid of the Angel and the silence in the room made him more courageous. He asked the angel what he was writing in the book. The reply Abou heard was that he was writing the names of all those people who love God. Abou asked the angel curiously if his name was in the list. The angel replied was negative. He then politely requested the angel to write his name as those people who love God’s fellow men. The angle wrote and disappeared.
The other night, it came again with a still glistening light and displayed the names of people whom God had blessed. Abou Ben Adhem saw that his name was on the top of the list and it led all the rest.
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