Ibrahim Bin Adham
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Ibrahim Bin Adham (ابراہیم بن ادھم) was popularly known as Abu Ben Adhem or Abou Ben Adhem in the West due to a famous poem by James Henry Leigh Hunt. His full name was Sultan Ibrahim bin Adham, Bin Mansur al-Balkhi al- Ijli, Abu Ishaq.
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[edit] His Life
He was born in Balkh on the east of Khurasan. His family was from the Kufa and were descendants of the second Caliph Omar bin Khattab.
He was the king of Balkh but abandoned the throne to become a Sufi saint. According to the Arabic and Persian sources like al- Bukhari ( d. 870) and many others, Ibrahim Bin Adham received a warning from God and abdicated his throne to take up the ascetic life in Syria. He died in 777-8 and is believed to be buried in Syrian town of Jabala.
[edit] His Legend
His legend enlarged gradually from al-Bukhari to Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani and after its full formation around the eleventh century, expanded to central Asia under the Mongols, Anatolia under the Ottoman rule, North India in the age of the Tughluqids, and Malaysia during the seventeenth century as revealed in the works by R. Jones.
[edit] His Clans
Although his children continue to rule Central Asia, the kingdom came to an end after Farrukh Shah Kabuli's son was killed fighting Mongols and the uprooted family moved East to Punjab (now part of Pakistan and then to India and up to Bangladesh. Baba Farid Ganj Shakar the famous Punjabi poet and Sufi Saint was one of his descendants. Adhamies of South Asia call themselves Farooqi.
[edit] His Masters and Students
His master was Fudhail Bin Iyadh whose master was Abdul Waahid Bin Zaid whose master was Hasan al-Basri. His successor was Huzaifah Al-Mar’ashi.
[edit] The legend of Abu Ben Adhem in the West
He was popularly known as Abu Ben Adhem or Abou Ben Adhem in the West because of a famous poem by James Henry Leigh Hunt.
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!
