Laila Majnu Love Story: The Inspiring Real Life Tale

Love is an emotion that has always managed to tear away the boundaries of class, status in the society, religion and even regional boundaries. If you turn the pages of history, you will find quite a few examples of some of the most overwhelming loves stories which strengthen the notion that love is nothing but an intensely passionate and all consuming emotion, felt by us all at some point of our lives. One such inspiring love story is the Laila Majnu love story, a tale of ‘mad’ love.

The Laila Majnu love story is a story of love that is nothing short of being legendary, compared to the pathos expressed in the stories of Romeo and Juliet or Sohni Mahiwal. If we go by what has been written, they were actually two bodies with one soul and refused to agree to the norms of their society to be one with each other. Also, this is not a funny love story, be warned.

The Start Of The ‘Killer’ Laila Majnu love story

It is the true story of a handsome young man by the name Qays Ibn al-Mulawwah who was from the northern Arabian Peninsula, and belonged to the Umayyad era during the 7th century. Though the actual Laila Majnu love story story is laced with blood and tragedy, it has managed to inspire generations to believe in true love and how it is ultimately one’s salvation, even if the path is laid in pain and suffering. It’s also a tale of a man who never had to learn how to write a love poem, because his poems are worth big money, more than 1200 years later. His poetry was a very poignant factor in this tale, as his words were said to have incited men and women alike.

Laila belonged to a rich family. She was extremely beautiful and her parents had left no stone unturned to nurture her like a princess all her life. Her marriage was fixed to a very wealthy and elder person who was supposed to provide her with all that wealth and splendour she was used to in her life.

The Twist Of Fate

But as fate would have it, the Laila Majnu love story was to happen anyway. Laila fell in love with a poor poet, Qays, who though from the same tribe, was not as affluent as Laila’s family was. His only wealth was his love poems that he dedicated ardently to Laila, his only love. He would sing his poems out loud even on the lanes for which he was called as Majnu – a madman. One day, finally mustering courage, Qays decided to ask Laila’s hand for marriage from her father, and that’s when all hell broke loose.

Being poor, Qays was immediately rejected by Laila’s family and she was married off to that rich man. When Qays came to know of it, he was so depressed that he left his home and wandered around the desert in search of her. He was completely seen as a madman after a while, singing those poems of love that he once dedicated to Laila, and his heart always pined for her.

Grief And Death

From here on, we get the more peaceful, but tragic version of the Laila Majnu love story. Laila was equally in misery without Qays. She was totally shattered by what had happened and had no spirit left in her. It was said that she was as good as dead. Eventually, she also fell prey to eternal grief and died at her husband’s place in Iraq in 688 AD, succumbing to severe illness.

When Qays’s friends came to know of Laila’s death, they searched for him to give the news. But he was finally found dead in the wilderness near Laila’s grave. And beside him, on the rock, were inscribed the last three of his verses, dedicated to his love Laila. He came to be known in history as Majnun Layla, which literally means, driven mad by Laila.

The famous Laila Majnu love story is one such real life love story that is still remembered even today. Nowadays it is all about fast paced dating, making out and breaking up in no time at all. It is a great love story that is surely needed in today’s time to restore our faith in true love.

The mysteries of love are unanswered and no one knows how it envelopes us in emotions which we fail to express. What’s your story?

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