'Abou Ben Adhem' - an opinion

'Abou Ben Adhem' (text)

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An Angel writing in a book of gold:

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem 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 blessed,
And, lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest!

(James Leigh Hunt)

James Leigh Hunt (1784 - 1859) wrote this poem in 1838 . Abou Ben Adhem was a Muslim saint and a Sufi mystic. The poem conveys the idea that true service of God lies in the service of humanity. God blesses those people who love their fellow beings. Most of us pay only lip-service to the worship of God, whatever the religion might be. If each one of us applies to our daily life, what our religion teaches us the world would be a much better place for each one of us to live. We all could say in unison with Browning, “God’s in his Heaven and all’s well with the world.”