On Friendship by Kahlil Gibran Summary in English

The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran's best book, has "On Friendship" as its 19th chapter. The Prophet is a collection of 26 works of prose poetry in English. It was first issued by Alfred A. Knopf in 1923. We all need the love, joy, comfort, and calm a friend brings us. You may freely and honestly debate your ideas with friends. You may hear a friend's innermost desires, hopes, and beliefs in his silence. The poem claims that after saying farewell to a friend, you can be able to see more clearly the qualities you appreciate in him.

About the Author

On January 6, 1883, Kahlil Gibran was born in the Lebanese city of Bsharri. In Boston in 1904, Gibran's first painting exhibition was held. From 1908 to 1910, he attended painting classes in Paris. He relocated to New York in 1912 and worked as an artist and writer there. The early works of Gibran were written in Arabic, but after 1918, he wrote mostly in English. The Mahar Society for Arab Writers was founded by Gibran in 1920. Gibran passed away in New York on April 10, 1931.

Theme of the Poem

This poetry may be found in "The Prophet." In this book, the Prophet Al-Mustafa is about to embark on a ship that would return him to his homeland after spending the previous 12 years in the remote city of Orphalese. A group of individuals briefly stop him and engage him in conversation about life and the human condition. The topic of friendship is one of them.

Summary of the Poem

Almustafa responds to the young person who inquires about friendship by describing the transcendent characteristics of friendship that go beyond simple fellowship. He demonstrates how friendship is a shared experience between two hearts and two souls, that it has equal value, and that it may lead to happiness.

The Prophet's explanation of what friendship means first comes off as being biased. He approaches the matter from the viewpoint of the young person, stating that friendship involves meeting his desire for shared affection, pleasure, solace, and calm. Following this explanation, the Prophet goes on to say that a friend is "your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving." The shared nature of the connection is made more clear in this definition, which is reminiscent of the adage of American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) that "To have a friend, you must be one." Consequently, friendship has mutually beneficial effects.

Almustafa advises that friendship involves open communication, trust, and freedom of thinking. Friends must feel comfortable speaking out and disagreeing without fear. True friendship goes beyond verbal communication. Everyone can hear and understand their friend's heart. Their friendship is created under this situation. Even in the absence of verbal communication, "all thoughts, all desires, all expectations" are recognized and shared in this spiritual connection. When friends are physically apart, this heart-knowledge still applies. Despite the fact that separation may be upsetting, paradoxically, it has a good impact on friendships since a buddy who isn't there is easier to recognize. The nicest and most important things are remembered by the heart. Almustafa compares this to being able to view a mountain's whole more clearly from a distance while being on a plain.

The Prophet continues by saying that friendship should only exist to improve the spirit. It is not friendship but a net to capture and retain another person's heart if it desires anything other than the "disclosure of its mystery"?the unveiling of its sublime attributes. Similar views are echoed by Almustafa in "On Love," where he advises that true love does not aim to possess or be possessed. It just wants to satisfy itself and nothing else.

Moral of the poem

A buddy satisfies the need for mutual affection, happiness, solace, and tranquility. You may freely and securely exchange ideas with friends. You may hear a friend's heart's aspirations, expectations, and ideas in his quiet. When you say goodbye to a buddy, you may see his positive traits more easily in his absence.

The only goal of friendship should be to heighten the spirit. Don't offer your pal your "hours to kill" or free time. Give your buddy everything that you have left?your "hours to live." And let the pleasure and laughter that comes from friendship fill your heart with honey.