ICSC SYLLABUS-ABOU BEN ADHEM WRITTEN BY LEIGH HUNT

Abou Ben Adhem

Leigh Hunt

1.       Abou Ben Adhem………………………………….of gold.

Reference to the context:

These lines showing an incident that took place in the life of holy and virtuous man named Abou Ben Adhem who gave up physical world for serving mankind and living a spiritual life, have been extracted from the poem entitled Abou Ben Adhem, written by Leigh Hunt.

Here the poet narrates an incident taking place in life of Abou Ben Adhem who was not only a holy and virtuous man but also kind hearted, sympathetic and compassionate for his fellow beings. Abou lived a spiritual life of a holy saint and served the distressed humanity.

 

Explanation:

Once there lived a holy and religious man. He was a true believer. He was noble, kind hearted and sympathetic. He was the lover of human race. He loved his fellow all the prejudices and evils and did noble deeds, he felt great peace of mind. At night, he would enjoy a sound and peaceful sleep. One night, when he was sleeping peaceful in his room, a sparking or dazzling light woke him up. On waking up, he found out the bright light was spreading in his room due to presence of an angel. The light was like a lily that was going to blossom. (In fact, it was a spiritual light. It was a kind of aura around the angel. Abou saw that the angel was writing something in the heavenly book.

2.       Exceeding peace …………………………the Lord.

Reference to the context:

These lines showing how spirituality, nobility and goodness make a man bold and courageous enough to face any situation, have been extracted from the poem entitled Abou Ben Adhem, written by Leigh Hunt.

Here the poet tells us that those who follow the path of morally and nobility and always remain far from the prejudices and evils, are ever ready to face any situation with boldness and courage. The same thing seems to be true in  the case of Abou. The presence of the angel in his room does not move him.

 

Explanation:

As Abou was a noble and holy soul and lived a virtuous life, he was bold and courageous enough to face any circumstances. Next because of being a peace-loving person, he was fully contented with his present life. A kind of peace always pervaded his room. This also helped him in being fearless. Hence, he was not least afraid of the heavenly presence in his room. As a man of pure conscience, he mustered up courage to speak to the angel. He asked him what he was writing. The angel raised his head to look at him. Abou found that there was great serenity and calmness at the face of the angel. His face had a soothing in a very sweet and gentle tone that he was writing the names of those who love God sincerely and truly.

3.       And is mine …………………………………..fellow men.

 

Reference to the context:

These lines showing Abou’s curiosity to know his name in the list as he was also true believer and had been loving and serving humanity, have been extracted from the poem entitled Abou Ben Adhem, written by Leigh hunt.

Here the poet tells us that as Abou was sacred and religious and was also a firm believer, he becomes curious to know about his name in the list and after knowing that he had not been included in the list, he remains calm and satisfied with his parent.

Explanation:

Abou’s pure conscience and nobility encouraged him to ask about his name in the list.  He also seemed to be very curious to know about his name in the list as he lived a life of morality and nobility. Hence he asked the angel if his name had been included in the list of those who love God truly and sincerely. The angel replied in negative. On hearing this Abou was little bit sad, but he was not disappointment and disheartened. The next moment, he cheerfully requested the angel to write his name as the one who loved, served and cared for his fellow beings. Abou seemed to be satisfied with this.

 

4.       The angel wrote………………………….all my rest.

Reference to the context:

These lines giving more importance to loving , serving and caring the humanity than worshipping God, have been extracted from the poem entitled Abou Ben Adhem, written by Leigh Hunt.

Here, the poet through the example of Abou Ben Adhem moralises that serving and caring humanity to worship God. God is always pleased with those who serve their fellow beings selflessly.

Explanation:

Abou requested politely to the angel to write his name in the list of those who love and serve their fellow beings. The angel, without paying any heed to Abou, wrote something in his heavenly book and disappeared from there. This incident did not affect Abou and he remained calm and satisfied as usual. He did not bother about the next happening. He was wholly unaware of the reward which he was going to receive. The next night, the angel appeared again in Abou’s room with the same aura and dazzling light which distracted Abou and he woke up. The angel exhibited the names of those who were blessed by God. Abou saw that his name was on the top of the list and it led all the rest. Indeed it was selfless love of Abou for his fellow beings that he had become the most favourite and the dearest to God. He received God’s blessings and his love as his true and sincere devotee.