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 ''
Layla and Majnun is a classical middle eastern love story made famous by Nizami and well loved by the Sufis. A story of a Man's perfection in love. It is based on the real story of a young man called Qays ibn al-Mullawah, 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 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".
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'.
In all the versions of the story, Layla is said to be dark & ugly, and not wanted by men. There was once Majnun, the great lover of Persia was asked, 'Oh, Majnun,' they said, 'your girl is not as beautiful as you think. You are sacrificing your life. You grieve for ages and ages for that girl. But she is not so beautiful.' Majnun answered, 'You should see my Laila with my eyes. It is the eyes of my heart you need. My heart has made my Laila.' That is called an ideal. And the ideal of perfection makes it beauty.
The story of Ultimate love.
