Layla and Majnun
Also known as :
The Madman and Layla (in Arabic )
Majnun Layla (in Arabic )
Qays and Layla ( in Arabic )
Leyli o Majnun ( in Persian )
Leyla ile Mecnun (in Turkish )
lailā majanū (in Urdu )
Layla and Majnun is based on a real story !
The story has 2 versions :
1. In one version, Qays spent his youth together with Layla, tending their flocks.
2. In another version, upon seeing Layla ,Qays 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 (Arabic: مجنون) meaning "madman."
Qays ibn al-Mulawwah , was a Bedouin poet.
He fell in love with Layla Al-Aamiriya from the same tribe.
He soon began composing 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 local traditions. Soon after, Layla married another man.
When Qays heard of her marriage, he fled the tribe camp and began wandering the surrounding desert. His family eventually gave up hope for 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 present-day Iraq with her husband, where she became ill and eventually died. Qays was later found dead in the wilderness in 688 AD. 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.
Among the poems attributed to Qays ibn al-Mulawwah, 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 "