scroll: The Romeo and Juliet of East Laila Majnu

Saturday, January 5, 2019

The Romeo and Juliet of East Laila Majnu

One of the most tragic of love stories of all times is that of the seventh century Arabian overs Layla Majnun, so close that they were two bodies but one in spirit. When Majnun suffered, Layla bore the signs

In an alternate version, Layla’s brother, Tabrez, would not allow her to bring a scandal upon them and shame the family name by marrying the crazy Majnun. Majnun blamed Tabrez for his proposal getting rejected and quarreled with him. Stricken with madness over the loss of Layla, Majnun murdered Tabrez. Word reached the village and he was arrested. He was sentenced to be stoned to death by the villagers. Layla could not bear it and agreed to marry another man if Majnun would be exiled instead of put to death. Her terms were accepted and she was married, but in her heart she still pined for him. Layla’s husband realized this and was infuriated. He took it as a personal insult to himself. He rode with his men into the desert to find Majnun. Upon finding him, Layla’s husband challenged him to a duel. The instant her husband’s sword pierced Majnun’s heart, Layla collapsed in her home. Layla and Majnun were buried next to each other as her husband and their fathers prayed for their afterlife. Myth has it that Layla and Majnun met again in heaven, where they loved forever. Layla Majnun did not die in vain, they died for love, and that love has immortalized them.

: Layla’s father gives her in marriage to Ibn Salam (IO Islamic 384, f. 23r)
Down: A hermit brings Layla to the place appointed for her meeting with Majnun but she shrinks from the encounter (IO Islamic 384, f. 34v)

Opening of Nizami's Laylā Majnūn, copied by Muhammad Baqir in 1557-8 (British Library IO Islamic 384, ff. 1v-2r)

Layla and Majnun as children at school (British Library IO Islamic 384, f. 7r)

The colophon giving the date of completion: Rabiʻ al-avval 965 (Dec 1557/Jan 1558), and the name of the scribe Muḥammad Bāqir [ibn] Mullā Mīr ʻAlī (British Library IO Islamic 384, f. 50r)

Layla visits Majnun in the wilderness surrounded by animals (IO Islamic 384, f. 42r)

Majnun throws himself on Layla’s tomb (IO Islamic 384, f. 48r)

A Miniature Of Nizami’s Work. Layla And Majnun Meet For The Last Time Before Their Deaths. Both Have Fainted And Majnun Elderly Messenger Attempts To Revive Layla While

Film

In pre-Independence India, the first Pashto-language film was an adaptation of this story.
Layla and Majnun was a Tajik Soviet film-ballet of 1960 as well as a Soviet Azerbaijani film of 1961.
Pakistani film Laila Majnu (1974) starred Waheed Murad, Rani, Shahid and Zammurd, was directed by Hassan Tariq and music was composed by Nisar Bazmi.
In Bollywood, H. S. Rawail’s Laila Majnu (1976) starred Rishi Kapoor and Ranjeeta portraying all “the intense pangs of love, the painful obstacles that lie in its path and a soul-stirring performance by its lead actors.” The film was written by Abrar Alvi, a longtime associate of Guru Dutt and its hit music was composed by Madan Mohan and Jaidev with lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi. The actors fully overact in true Hindi film style and the music and dialogues are sentimental.
The Turks made the cinematic drama Leyla ile Mecnun in 1982.
Palestinian filmmaker Susan Youssef filmed Habibi (based on the story) in the Gaza strip in 2011.