The other day I was talking to my friend from Pakistan. We discussed the story of Layla and Majnun. It touched me deeply… Layla was a woman whose beauty was beyond compare in the eyes of her beloved, Qays. Qays was driven insane, in fact, with his love for Layla. So insane that he began to exhibit strange behavior… her father then decided he was “too weird” to marry Layla. So she was given by her family to another man.
Layla loved her Qays, however, and he loved her. They called him “Majnun”, the madman, for he acted like a madman. He became a wandering poet, banished by his family out of embarrassment. As a poet, he achieved enough fame for the mighty and powerful to hear of his tales — one powerful ruler called Qays before him, and demanded to see this great Layla. He was the great Caliph, and when he saw her, he found her ordinary. Rumi recalls this meeting:
The Caliph questioned Layla, saying, “Are you truly the oneFor whom Majnun lost his sanity and became deranged?You are not more beautiful than many others.”Layla responded, “Stay silent; you are not Majnun!”If you possessed Majnun’s eyes,Both worlds would be unveiled to your sight.You remain in your senses, while Majnun is lost in madness,For in love, to be fully awake is treason.The more one is awake, the more one surrenders to sleep (of love),Such wakefulness is more burdensome than slumber.
Stay silent, you are not Majnun… a brave response to a mighty man. The Caliph could not see in Layla the beauty, the kindness, the powerful desires she gave rise to within Qays. He could not feel this passions, could not comprehend them — they were between Layla and Majnun, only.
Layla was married, a mother, banished to another land as her Majnun wandered the earth, leaving sad and longing poetry in his wake. Soon Layla’s broken heart gave up on her and she died. Majnun disappeared and his body was later found at her grave, eyes closed as if asleep. He was at peace only by her side, and in death.
No comments:
Post a Comment