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Layla and Majnun

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Layla and Majnun, also known as The madman of Layla - in Arabic مجنون ليلى (Majnun layla) or قيس وليلى (Qays and Layla), in (Leyli and Madjnun) and Leyla ile Mecnun (Layla with Majnun) in Turkish - is a classical Middle Eastern love story. It is based on the real story of a young man called Qays ibn al-Mulawwah (Arabic : قيس بن الملوح ) from the northern Arabian Peninsula, in the Umayyad era during the 7th century. There were two Arabic versions of the story at the time. In one version, he spent his youth together with his cousin, Layla, tending their flocks. In the other version, upon seeing Layla he fell passionately in love with her. In both versions, however, he went mad when her father prevented him from marrying her; for that reason he came to be called Majnun Layla, which means "Driven mad by Layla". To him were attributed a variety of incredibly passionate romantic Arabic poems, considered among the foremost examples of the Udhari school.

Story

Qays ibn al-Mulawwah ibn Muzahim, a bedouin poet, was from the Bani Aamir tribe of Arabia. He fell in love with Layla bint Mahdi ibn Sa’d from the same tribe, better known as Layla Al-Aamiriya. He soon began creating poems about his love for her, mentioning her name often. When he asked for her hand in marriage her father refused as this would mean a scandal for Layla according to Arab traditions. Soon after, Layla married another man.

When Qays heard of her marriage he fled the tribe camp and wandered in the surrounding desert. His family eventually gave up on his return and left food for him in the wilderness. He could sometimes be seen reciting poetry to himself or writing in the sand with a stick.

Layla moved to Iraq with her husband, where she became ill and eventually died. Qays was later found dead in the wilderness in 688 A.D. near an unknown woman’s grave. He had carved three verses of poetry on a rock near the grave, which are the last three verses attributed to him.

Many other minor incidents happened between his madness and his death. Most of his recorded poetry was composed before his descent into madness.

This type of love is known in Arabic culture as "Virgin Love" (Arabic: حب عذري), because the lovers never married or made love. Other famous Virgin Love stories are the stories of "Qays and Lubna", "Kuthair and Azza", "Marwa and Al Majnoun Al Faransi" and "Antara and Abla".

History and influence

From Arab and Habib folklore the story passed into Persian literature, and in 12th century, Nizami wrote a famous adaptation of Layli and Majnun in Persian. In his adaptation, the young lovers become acquainted at school and desperately fall in love. However, they cannot see each other because of a family feud, and Laila's family arranges for her to marry another man . It is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet, which was itself said to have been inspired by a Latin version of Layla and Majnun to an extent. However, Shakespearean scholars deny any such influence.

The Azerbaijani Turkish adaptation of the story, Dâstân-ı Leylî vü Mecnûn (داستان ليلى و مجنون; "The Epic of Layla and Majnun") was written in 16th century by Fuzûlî. In Azerbaijan, Fuzûlî's adaptation of Layli and Majnun was made into an opera by the renowned Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov and staged in Baku on January 25, 1908. Layli and Majnun was the first opera of the Middle East.

The myth has influenced many Middle Eastern poets, especially Sufi writers in whose literature the name Leyli/Layla suggests a reference to their concept of the Beloved. The name has also found its way into modern occult literature in connection with the archetype called Babylon or Babalon. These writings use the spelling Laylah, which also suggests the Arabic and Hebrew words for night. Where romance outside of marriage is frowned upon, the name Layla has influenced other aspects of Middle Eastern culture. The name 'Layla' means 'one who works by night', referring to the fact that the romance was hidden and kept a secret. In Turkey, the phrase "To feel like Layla" is used to describe the feeling one gets when one is completely "out-of-it" and dazed, or, like Majnun, to be crazily in love. The word 'Majnun' (or Majnoon) in Persian and Arabic means 'crazy'.

It is also a common motif used in the Muslim literature of South Asia, especially in Urdu ghazals.

Among the poems attributed to Qays bin al-Mullawah, regarding Layla:

I pass by these walls, the walls of Layla
And I kiss this wall and that wall
It’s not Love of the houses that has taken my heart
But of the One who dwells in those houses

In the late 19th century, Ahmed Shawqi wrote a poetic play about the tragedy. Qay's lines from the play are sometimes confused with his actual poems. The play is considered one of the best in modern Arab poetry.

The story is also featured in Bahá'u'lláh's Sufi writings, the Seven Valleys.

Popular culture

See also

Footnotes

References

  • Nizami, The Story of Layla & Majpoonun, ISBN 0-930872-52-5
  • Nizami and Colin Turner, Layla and Majnun, ISBN 1-85782-161-0

External links



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