Layla and Majnun

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Majnun in the wilderness
Majnun in the wilderness

Layla and Majnun (Persian: ليلى ومجنون‎),Leyli and Madjnun,or in Arabic (مجنون ليلى) Majnun layla or (قيس و ليلى) Qays and Layla , is a classical Middle Eastern love story. It is supposedly based on the real story of a young man called Qays ibn al-Mullawah (Arabic : قيس بن الملوح ) from the northern Arabian Peninsula,[1] in the Umayyad era during the 7th century. There were two Arabic versions of the story at the time.[2] In one version, he spent his youth together with Layla tending their flocks. In the other version, upon seeing Layla he fell in a most passionate 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.

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[edit] History and influence

From Arab folklore it passed into Persian literature, and Nezami wrote a famous adaptation of their love story in the 12th century. In his adaptation, the young lovers become acquainted at school and fall desperately in love but they cannot see each other because of a family feud, while at the same time, Laila's marriage is being arranged to another man.[3]

It is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet, which was itself inspired by Layla and Majnun to an extent. In Azerbaijan, the story was made into an opera first staged on January 25, 1908 by Uzeyir Hajibeyov.The myth has been influential to Middle Eastern poets, especially Sufi writers in whose literature the name Leyli/Layla suggests a reference to their concept of Beloved. The name also found its way to the modern occult literature in connection with the archetype called Babylon or Babalon, though these writings use the spelling Laylah which also suggests the Arabic and Hebrew words for night. Her name has been influenced by culture, as romance out of marriage in the Middle East is frowned upon. The name 'Layla' means 'one who works by night', representing the fact that the romance was hidden, and kept a secret. It served as the inspiration for the title of Eric Clapton's famous album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs and its title track; the track "I Am Yours" is a direct quote from a passage in Layla and Majnun. In Turkey, the phrase "To feel like Layla" is used to mean the feeling one gets when one is completely "out-of-it" and dazed, and also, to feel like Majnun, means to be crazily in love. These phrases originate from the above love story. The word 'Majnun' (or Majnoon) in Persian and Arabic means 'crazy'.

It is also 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:[4]

“ 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

 ”

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ [3]
  4. ^ Loss of Meaning, Faraz Rabbani, Islamica Magazine No. 15/2006

[edit] References

[edit] See also

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[edit] External links

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