Original language:
Persian Translated from: Russian
Authors: Nizami Ganjavi
Published in: (Lietuvių) Vilnius
Published on: 1985
Publisher: Vaga
Layla and Majnun is one of the most popular story in the Islamic world, enduring in legends, tales, poems, songs, and epics from the Caucasus to Africa and from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. Because of the tragic destiny of two young lovers told in this poem, it is frequently called the „Romeo and Juliet“ of the East. One main difference between Nizami‘s and Shakespeare‘s poems is that two lovers are separated because of war between two families in Romeo and Juliet, and in Layla and Majnun, written 400 years before Romeo and Juliet, the couple can‘t be together because of strict customs and religion that affected other people opinions and also Layla‘s family resistance against their love.
This poem starts with a prayer or as so called blessing of Allah, as it is a custom to do so in poems of Islamic East. Later on, the real story begins – at the age of ten, Qays goes to school and meets his fate, a beautiful Layla. Love struck Qays constantly cites Layla‘s beauty and his endless love for her, but in muslim countries, showing your love and feelings towards other person was called a sin and gradually because of his openly showed feelings, the boy started to look like a mad man to other people. Layla‘s family heard the rumours about Qays being called crazy and also not stable, so in order to keep their daughter‘s and their family honor they forbided Qays (later he was called Majnun – „a madman“) to meet Layla. Separated from his lover, Majnun starts his wandering from wilderness to Meca and while travelling he continued to create wonderful poetry for his one and only Layla.
In the end of the poem, after long and exhausting separation of two lovers, Layla and Majnun finally meets each other. Only this time Majnun comes back to already dead Layla and torned by sorrow he dies in front of her tomb. Despite the fact that they were separated, Layla and Majnun preserved their pure love – even though Layla was forced to marry, she never actually agreed to conjugality and Majnun, who couldn‘t fight against their destiny, his travel and spreading the neverending love in poetry was his own way of fighting.
Nizami „Layla and Majnun“ is not only a tragic love story – this poems holds incredible treasures of 800 years of wisdom – lifestyle of that current time, scientific data, customs and superstitions that shows to the reader the beauty and wisdom of islam. By the way, Nizami himself considered his creations instructive and praising dignity and humanity. This poem is not an exception – Nizami shows to the reader a big reflexion on cruelty and despotic customs of islamic world.