Category:Layla and Majnun

Layla and Majnun or "The Madman and Layla" is a love story originating from classic Arabic Literature, later adopted and popularized by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi.

Majnun fell in love with Layla bint Mahdi ibn Sa’d (better known as Layla Aamiriya) from the same tribe which lived (in fact, still lives) in central Saudi Arabia. He began composing poems about his love for her. His efforts to woo the girl caused locals to call him Majnun (madman). When he asked for her hand in marriage, her father refused as it would be a scandal for Layla to marry someone considered mentally unbalanced. Soon after, Layla was married to another man.

When Majnun heard of her marriage, he fled the tribe camp and began wandering the surrounding desert. He could sometimes be seen reciting poetry to himself or writing in the sand with a stick. Layla moved to present-day Iraq or a place in northern Arabia with her husband, where she became ill and died. In some versions, Layla dies of heartbreak from not being able to see her would-be lover. Majnun was later found dead in the wilderness in, near an unknown woman’s grave. He had carved three verses of poetry on a rock near the grave.