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, 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 it's 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 Adhem's name led all the rest.
ABOU BEN ADHEM was a Muslim mystic (Suffi) from Persia and was venerated as a saint, his father was a prince of Khurasan. One day when ABOU BEN ADHEM was out hunting with his favourite horse and dog, they were in hot pursuit of a hare, he heard the voice of an unseen speaker . I felt dread and stopped, then I began again and urged my horse on. Three times it happened....... Then, I heard the voice again,
It was the voice of God saying,
"It was not for this thou was created,
It is not for this thou was commanded to do"
I felt dread, stopped then began again and urged my trusty steed on. Three time it happened, eventually I dismounted, as I did I encountered on of my Father's shepherds.
I took from him his woollen tunic and put it on and gave him my mare and all that I had with me in exchange.
It was then I turned my steps towards Mecca!
My sincere thanks to the AMAZING Denise for devising this AWESOME site, also to the AMIABLE Roger along with his ADVENTUROUS ASSISTANT Leslie who deal with the Admin. (No mean task!) Last but not least the team of helpers who visit around the ARDENT ABCwednesdayers!
Best wishes,
Di.
ABCW team.
what a lovely story this is... i hope my name is on that list as wel
ReplyDeleteHave a nice abcwednes-day / – week
♫ M e l d y ♫ (abc-w-team)
http://melodymusic.nl/abc-wednesday-19-a/
I shall put your name on the top of it immediately Melody..just above mine good to hear from you xx
DeleteBest wishes,
Di.
xx
Lovely
ReplyDeletethanks for your kind comment,
Deletebest wishes,
Di
ABCW team..
Informative and interesting post and photos for A ~
ReplyDeleteHappy Week to you ~ ^_^
Thanks Carol xx
DeleteI love reading about other religions since their is beauty and inspiration in all of them. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteMe too Arnoldo.
DeleteAfter visiting Turkey extensively, I've learned so much about
their religion and ideals. What strikes me is the respect shown to us despite the bad side of Islam being shown all over the world, The Turkish people are lovely and they show nothing but respect for all creeds and nations. I'd love to go back but sadly health issues disallow me doing so! Nevermind I can still get by with all my lovely memories.
Blessings to you my friend.
Di,
ABCW team.
Wow lot's of As here. You are talented. :)
ReplyDeletehey Carin, thanks for that...so are you!
DeleteBest wishes Di,
ABCW team.
very informative, and eye-opening
ReplyDeleteROG, ABCW
Thanks Roger,
DeleteYes it's always wise to keep one eyes open,
particularly when walking along a steep cliff!
Cheers Di. xx
Love that story - the Second Commandment - love thy neighbor as thyself....
ReplyDeleteHildred. Exactly my sentiments too.
DeleteI'm delighted we're getting a new lady Prime Minister.
I'm personally sad to see David Cameron go but he is an honourable man and had no choice. This isn't a political rant just 'loving my neighbour'
Best regards,
Di.
ABCW team.
Abou Ben Adhem makes so much sense in these troubled times..the extremists of today need to learn from this Muslim saint.
ReplyDeleteWonderful presentation!
Thank you Amit for your kind words, and yes, the extremists would do well to mark the words of a much exalted saint.
DeleteHe was indeed a very wise men.
Best wishes,
Di,
ABCW team.
Wow...super selection for the letter A.Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHello K V V S MURTHY,
DeleteGood to hear from you and thanks for your
kind words, most appreciated.
Best wishes,
Di.
ABCW team.
I agree with Hildred and with you:"love thy neighbor as thyself." The animals, I wrote about, showed us that peaceful living side by side, is possible.Beautiful story Di!
ReplyDeleteWil
Hi Wil;
DeleteIndeed we are all in accord, if only the power thrusting
leaders would join the ladies who oppose them and stop the
futile wars, if only???
Thanks for your kind and supportive words.
Love Di.
ABCW team.
Hi, Di, I learn so much from your blog. I like Abou Ben Ahem and the poem about him. I can't recall of anyone like him or this poem that I read when I was young. No doubt we were exposed to Good Samaritan stories to model ourselves after.
ReplyDeleteHello Su-sieee,
DeleteSo good to hear from you again and I am delighted that you learn so much from my blog, but then, surely, we all learn from each other.Since I was invited by Denise and then Leslie to join ABCW, I have met so many wonderful people and learned so much about other peoples lives, I feel that I have become, a better person. well, I Hope I have, It's never too late to change particularly if it's for the better.
Love n hugs to my friend Su-sieee (I think of you and the lovely husband, not forgetting Molly Cat). There must be a sad void in your lives since you lost The Mama and I hope my thoughts and prayers for you will give you some comfort,..xxx
Di, I appreciate your hugs and gentle words so much. Now that I know the Husband's health is on the mend, I find myself feeling sad. The Husband tells me to go with the flow.
DeleteThe husband is so right, you've probably centred all your positive thoughts on him and his health issues and putting your grief to one side.
DeleteI rather like a text from The Bible, Ecclesiates 3:2
It starts with;
1. To everything there is a season....
then down to ...
4. A time to weep and a time to laugh
5. A time to mourn and a time to dance.
You must pick your time to do this and only you know when.
As your dear husband says 'Go with the flow'... thinking of you dear Susie and The Husband love Di with more hugs xx
Very interesting post !
ReplyDeleteWell thank you Gattina, I've always been interested in other cultures and religion and it's so easy to share our views and ideals on this wonderful blog site, we sure do have a lot to thank Denise, Roger Leslie and co for working so hard in keeping ABCW running !
DeleteBest wishes,
Di,
ABCW team.
Very nice post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rajesh,
DeleteGood to hear from you again.
Best wishes,
Di.
ABCW team.
Believe it or not, I knew that poem! Way back in India in middle or high school it was included in the English reading. .
ReplyDeleteHi Indira,
DeleteI'm delighted to learn this as it's not universally a well known poem, Thanks for stopping by,
Best wishes,
Di,
ABCW team.
calla lilies. i write about it a lot.
ReplyDeleteThanks Di for your visit and words. We should meet and have a nice cuppa together!
ReplyDeletepowerful.
ReplyDeleteNice poem..
ReplyDeletecare sunt disponibile numai online. satta king play bazaar Începeți să citiți restul acestui articol pentru a afla mai multe.
ReplyDeleteplay bazaar
ReplyDeleteplay bazaar
play bazaar but make sure they have a clear sense of right and wrong.