Abou Ben Adem

PASSAGE - 1

i) Abou Ben Adham was a ruler of Balkh. He lived a noble life. He

dedicated his life to the service of his humanity. By 'may his tribe increase'
the poet prays to God that men like Abou may increase . The narrator
holds Abou in high esteem.

ii) Abou was a man of clean conscious. He had no enemies. He had no

worries. He was a saintly man, and so he always had a peaceful, and
undisturbed sleep.

iii) Abou's room looked bright in the moonlight night. The angel looked
like a lily that was going to bloom because in the moonlight the radiant
angel looked brighter and more beautiful.

iv) Abou saw an angel in his room. The angel was writing in a golden
book. The book of gold refers to heavenly book in which good deeds of
mortals are recorded.

v) The next nighr the angel came again with danling lighc which
awakened Abou from his peaceful sleep. He showed Abou the list of men
whom God loved. To Abou's surprise, he found his name on the top of the
list.

PASSAGE – 2

i) The angel is referred to as 'the presence' in this extract. Abou asks the
presence what he is writing in the golden book.

ii) The angel is referred to as 'the vision' here. He raised his head to
answer Abou's question.

iii) The angel tells Abou that he was writing the names of those men who
loved God.

iv) Abou is curious to know if his name is also there among those who love
God. Abou is not dishearted. But he is more humble and polite. The angel's
reply does not dishearten Abou. The words 'But cheerly still' tell us that
he was not disheartened. Very politely and cheerfully he requests the
angel to write his name among those who love their fellow humans.

PASSAGE – 3

i) The angel conceded to Abou's request and wrote his name as one who
loved his fellow men. Then the angel vanished. He appeared again the next
night. He showed Abou that his name was on the top of the list whom God
loved.

ii) Abou Ben Adhem was not strictly a religious man. He did not worship
God. He just served every human who needed any help. But God was
pleased with him. God loved him because he loved his creation.

iii)

(a) The angel appeared again with such a dazzling light that awakened
Abou.

(b) It came to Abou as a great surprise that his name was on the top of
those men whom god had blessed with his love.

iv) The angel showed Abou a list of those men whom God loved. It was
absolutely surprising that the man who was not one among those who
loved God, led the list of those men whom God loved.

v) The theme of the poem is simple. Service to humanity is the true

worship of God. God loves those who love their fellow human beings.