The Love Story of Majnu and Laila

The love story of Laila and Majnu is a very famous one in Arabia, no less than a legend. Even today, the Arab people know them as MajnuLaila; the “and” in between is missing, because while they were two in flesh, they were one in spirit. It is based on the real story of a rich young girl named Laila and her lover named Qaysibn al-Mullawah , or simply Qays, from the northern Arabian Peninsula, in the Umayyad era during the 7th century. The love story of “Majnu and Laila” is eternal, although a tragic one. It is one of the world’s most celebrated love stories of all time.

Laila was a beautiful girl from a rich family. Being no less than a princess, she was expected to marry a wealthy boy and live in grandeur and splendor. But love is born from the heart; it knows no rules. Laila fell in love with poor Qays and he too loved her dearly.

Qays was a poet and belonged to the same tribe as Laila. He composed splendid love poems and dedicated them to his lady-love, telling in them his love for her and mentioning her name often. Qays’ friends knew about his affair with Laila and they often teased and made fun of his love considering the great gap between their social standings. But the teasing had no effect on Qays. He was deeply in love with Laila and it was thoughts of her alone that possessed his mind all the time.

It had been for quite some time that Qays wanted to meet with Laila’s family and ask for her hand in marriage. One day, he went up to her parents and asked to marry their daughter.

But Qays being a poor lad, Laila’s father promptly refused him. The parents didn’t want their daughter to marry someone below their status. In Arab tradition, it would mean a scandal for Laila.

As fate would have it, the two lovers were prohibited from seeing each other from then on. Soon after, Laila’s parents married her off to a wealthy man, who took her away to live in a big mansion.

When Qays heard of her marriage, he was heartbroken. He fled their tribe and wandered in the surrounding desert. His family eventually gave up expecting him to return and simply left food for him in the wilderness. He could sometimes be seen reciting poetry to himself or writing Laila’s name in the sand with a stick. Day and night, he longed for her.

Laila was the same. Separated from Qays, she was shattered in mind, body and spirit. Not long afterwards, in the year 688 AD, she moved to Iraq with her husband, where she fell ill and was compelled to return to their home village. She eventually died.

When Qays’ friends learned about Laila’s death, they went looking for him in the desert to give him the sad news. But they could not find him.

Not long later, their search for him came to an end. Qays was found dead in the wilderness near Laila’s grave. On a rock near the grave, he had carved three verses of poetry, which are the last three verses ascribed to him.

Qays went mad for his love, the reason he came to be called “Majnu,” or “MajnunLaila,” which means “Driven mad by Laila.”