Abou Ben Adham

Abou Ben Adham
I remember the following poem by Leigh Hunt from my school days and it had a lasting impression on me:
Abou Ben Adham (May his tribe increase,)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moon light in his room,
Making it rich like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold.
Exceedig peace made Ben Adham bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
“What writest thou?” the vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord
Answered ,”The names of those who love the Lord”.
“And is mine one?” said Abou, “Nay, not so,”
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerily still; and said, I pray thee then,
Write me as one who loves his fellow men.
The angel wrote and vanished, the next night,
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blest,
And lo! Ben Adham’s name led all the rest.
Leigh Hunt
When Jesus was asked which of the Ten Commandments He thought were the most important. He answered the most important is the love of God. Next comes “Love thy Neighbor as thyself”.

Is the command to love thy neighbor is really more important than the command “Thou shalt not Kill”, and “Thou shalt not steal”?. Yes, definitely it is more important, because this commandment encompasses those two other commandments. If you love your fellow human being would you kill him, or rob him or lie to him?

If all human beings in the world were Abou Ben Adhams, the world would not need a police force or an army.

I know this is an unrealizable utopia. However if All parents and schools in the world raise their children to love other human beings regardless of color, faith or race, the evil doing would be reduced drastically. The other very important cause of evil doing is poverty. It is a shame on the human race that some millions of people die of hunger and lack of health care.

Rate the article
Bad	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Very good
Result : 55%							Participated in the vote : 2