Reality Of Layla Majnu

Reality Of Layla Majnu

The madman of Layla, in Arabic (مجنون ليلى) Majnun layla or (قيس وليلى) Qays and Layla, In farisi (Persian: ليلى ومجنون),Leyli and Madjnun; is a classical Middle Eastern love story. It is 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.

Story 

He is Qays ibn al-Mullawah ibn Muzahim from the Bani Aamir tribe of Arabia; he was a bedouin and a poet. He fell in love with Layla bint Mahdi ibn Sa’d from the same tribe, better known as Layla Al-Aamiriya. As a poet, he began to say poems mentioning his love for her and mentioning her name. 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 desert around the tribe, his family left food for him in the wilderness to eat after they gave up on his return. He would sometimes be seen saying poetry to himself or writing in the sand with a stick. 

Layla moved to Iraq with her husband, where she got 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 before his madness. 

This type of love is known in Arabic culture as “Virgin Love” (Arabic: حب عذري), because the lovers never marry or make love. Other famous Virgin Love stories are the stories of “Qays and Lubna”, “Kuthair and Azza” and “Antara and Abla”