In Arabia there lives a successful, hospitable, generous ruler of the tribe Amir. He is “glorious like a caliph,” but is like a “candle without light,” for he is without offspring. Finally, Allah heeded his prayers and gave him a beautiful son. The baby is entrusted to the nurse, and time pours “the milk of tenderness” into the growing child. Case - this is the name of the boy, which means “Measure of talent” in Arabic, succeeds in his studies. Several girls study together with the boys. One of them became famous early on for her intelligence, spiritual purity, and rare beauty. Her curls are like night, and her name is Leili (“Night”). Case, "by stealing her heart, destroyed his soul." Children's love is mutual. Fellow students learn arithmetic, while lovers compose a dictionary of love. Love cannot be hidden. Case is exhausted by love, and those who did not stumble on her path nicknamed him Majnun - “Madman.” Fearing gossip, the family hid Leili from Majnun. Sobbing, he wanders through the streets and the bazaar. Moaning, he sings the songs he composed. And everyone shouts after him: “Madman! Madman! In the morning, Majnun goes into the desert, and at night he secretly makes his way to his beloved’s house to kiss the locked door. One day, with several faithful friends, Majnun comes to his beloved’s tent. Leili removes the blanket, revealing her face. Majnun complains to her about her evil fate. Out of fear of the machinations of their rivals, they look at each other aloofly and do not know that fate will soon deprive them of even this single glance.

After consulting with the elders of the tribe, Majnun’s father decided to “buy back the jewelry of the foreigners at the cost of hundreds of pieces of jewelry.” At the head of a magnificent caravan, he solemnly goes to the Leili tribe - to woo the beauty for his son. But Leili’s father rejects the match: Case is of noble birth, but insane, marriage with a madman does not bode well. Relatives and friends exhort Majnun and offer him hundreds of beautiful and rich brides in return for Leili. But Majnun leaves his home and in rags, shouting “Leili! Leili! runs through the streets, wanders in the mountains and in the sands of the desert. Saving his son, the father takes him with him on the Hajj, hoping that worshiping the Kaaba will help in trouble, but Majnun prays not for his own healing, but only for Leili’s happiness. His illness is incurable.

The Leili tribe, outraged by the gossip of the nomads, the “fussiness” that made the beauty “as if in the heat,” became embittered. The war chief of the tribe draws his sword. Death threatens Majnun. His father is looking for him in the desert to save him, and finds him in some ruins - a sick man, possessed by an evil spirit. He takes Majnun home, but the madman escapes, rushing only to the desired Nejd, the homeland of Leili. On the way, he composes new gazelles.

Meanwhile, Leili is in despair. Unnoticed by her family, she climbs onto the roof of the house and watches the road all day, hoping that Majnun will come. Passers-by greet her with poems from her beloved. She responds to poetry with verses, as if “jasmine sends a message to the cypress.” One day, while walking through a blooming garden, Leili hears someone’s voice singing a new ghazal: “Majnun is suffering, and Leili... In what spring garden is she walking?” The friend, shocked by Leili’s sobs, tells her mother everything. Trying to save their daughter, Leili's parents favorably accept the matchmaking of the rich young man Ibn Salam.

The mighty Naufal learned about Majnun’s sorrows and was filled with compassion for him. He invited the unfortunate wanderer to his place, caressed him, and offered help. Majnun promises to pull himself together and wait patiently. He is cheerful, drinks wine with a new friend and is considered the wisest in the assembly of wise men. But days pass, patience runs out, and Majnun tells Naufal that if he does not see Leyli, he will give up his life. Then Naufal leads a selected army into battle and demands Leili from her tribe, but he failed to win the bloody battle. Unable to hear the laments of the dispirited Majnun, Naufal gathers his army again and finally wins. However, even now Leili’s father is ready to prefer even his slavery and the death of his daughter to her marriage to a madman. And those close to Naufal are forced to agree with the old man. Naufal leads his army away in sadness. Majnun, who has lost hope, disappears. He wanders for a long time in the sands of the desert, finally ends up with a beggar old woman, who leads him on a rope and collects alms. In a state of complete madness, Majnun reaches Leili's native place. Here his relatives found him and, to their great despair, became convinced that he had “forgotten both his dwellings and ruins”, everything had been erased from his memory except the name Leili.

With a huge ransom, with rare gifts from Byzantium, China and Taif, Ibn Salam's envoy comes to Leili's father. They played a wedding, and Ibn Salam took Leili to his home. But when the lucky man tried to touch the newlywed, he received a slap in the face. Leili is ready to kill her unloved husband and die. Ibn Salam, in love, agrees to limit himself to “seeing her.” Majnun learns about Leili's marriage, the messenger also tells him about Leili's sadness and chastity. Majnun is confused. The unfortunate man's father dreams of finding a medicine that would heal his son. Peering into the face of the old man who came to him, Majnun does not recognize his own father. After all, he who has forgotten himself will not be able to remember others. The father identifies himself, cries with his son and calls on him to courage and prudence, but Majnun does not heed him. The desperate father sadly says goodbye to the doomed madman. Soon Majnun learns about his father’s death from a stranger who reminds him that “besides Leili, there are relatives.” Day and night, Majnun cries at the grave and asks for forgiveness from the “star that gave light.” From now on, wild animals of the desert became his friends. Like a shepherd with his flock, Majnun walks among a crowd of predators and shares with them the offerings of the curious. He sends his prayers to the heavens, to the palace of the Almighty, and prays to the stars. Suddenly he receives a letter from Leili. The beauty handed her message to the messenger with the bitter words: “I am crazier than a thousand Majnuns.” Majnun reads a message in which Leili speaks of her pity for her childhood playmate who is suffering because of her, assures her of her fidelity and chastity, mourns Majnun’s father as if she were her own, and calls for patience. Leili writes: “Don’t be sad that you have no friends, am I not your friend?” In a hurry, Majnun writes a reply letter. Leili looked at Majnun’s message and watered it with tears. The letter contains words of love and impatience, reproaches and envy towards the lucky Ibn Salam, who at least sees Leili’s face. “The balm will not heal my wound,” writes Majnun, “but if you are healthy, there is no sadness.”

Majnun is visited in the desert by his uncle Selim Amirit. Fearing the animals surrounding his nephew, he greets him from afar. He brought clothes and food to Majnun, but the animals also got halva and cookies. Majnun himself eats only herbs. Selim strives to please Majnun and tells a parable in which a similar hermit is praised. Delighted by the understanding, Majnun asks to talk about the affairs of his friends, inquires about his mother’s health: “How does that bird with broken wings live?.. I long to see its noble face.” Feeling that the voluntary exile loves his mother, Selim brings her to Majnun. But the tearful complaints of the mother, who bandaged her son’s wounds and washed his hair, are powerless. "Leave me with my sorrows!" - Majnun exclaims and, falling, kisses the ashes at his mother’s feet. Crying, the mother returned home and said goodbye to the mortal world. This sad news is brought to him by the contrite Selim. Majnun began to sob like the strings of chang and fell to the ground like glass on a stone. He cries at the graves of his parents, his relatives bring him to his senses, try to detain him in his native land, but Majnun runs away groaning into the mountains. Life, even if it lasted a thousand years, seems to him like a moment, because “its basis is death.”

Like a snake's tail, a string of disasters follows Leili. Her husband watches over her and mourns his fate. He tries to caress Leili, to please her, but she is stern and cold. An elder who came to the house talks about the fate of the one who “screams like a herald and wanders through the oases,” calling for his beloved. Leili’s cypress frame became a “reed” from her sobs. Having given the old man her pearl earrings, she sends him for Majnun.

The wanderer lies at the foot of the mountain, animals surrounded him, guarding him like a treasure. Seeing the old man from afar, Majnun rushed to him, “like a child to milk.” Finally, he is promised a date in a palm grove. “How can a thirsty person escape from the Euphrates? How can the wind fight ambergris? Majnun sits under a palm tree in the appointed place and waits for Leili. Leili, accompanied by the elder, walks, but stops ten steps from her beloved. She does not love her husband, but is incapable of betrayal. He asks Majnun to read poetry, Majnun sang for Leili. He sings that she seems to him like a mirage, a spring that is only dreamed of by a thirsty traveler. There is no longer any faith in earthly happiness... Once again Majnun rushes into the desert, and the gloomy Leili returns to her tent. Songs about Majnun's unhappy love were heard by the noble young man Salam of Baghdad, who had experienced sublime feelings. Salam finds Majnun and offers him his service. He longs to hear the songs of Majnun and asks to consider himself one of the tamed animals. Affectionately greeting Salam, Majnun tries to reason with him. Tired of himself, he will not get along with anyone except animals. Salam begs not to reject his help. Majnun condescends to pleas, but is unable to accept the exquisite treat. Salam consoles Majnun. After all, he himself experienced a similar feeling, but burned out; “When youth passes, the fiery furnace cools down.” Majnun in response calls himself the king of kings of love. Love is the meaning of his whole life, it is irresistible. The interlocutor falls silent in shame. New friends travel together for several days, but Salam cannot live without sleep and bread, and so he says goodbye to Majnun and goes to Baghdad, “loading his memory with many qasidas.”

Leili is like a treasure guarded by snakes. She pretends to be cheerful with Ibn Salam, but sobs alone and, exhausted, falls to the ground.

Ibn Salam fell ill. The doctor restored his strength, but Ibn Salam does not listen to the healer’s advice. The body, exhausted by “the first illness, was transferred to the wind by the second illness.” Ibn Salam's soul "was freed from worldly torment."

The saddened Leili mourns him, although she has found the desired freedom. But, grieving for the departed, in her soul she remembers her beloved. According to the custom of the Arabs, Leili was left alone in her tent, because now she must sit at home for two years, not showing her face to anyone. She got rid of the annoying visitors, and, alas, now she has a legitimate reason to cry. But Leili mourns another grief - separation from her beloved. She prays: “Lord, unite me with my torch, from the fire of whose suffering I am burning!”

On leaf fall days, bloody drops flow from the leaves, and the “face of the garden” turns yellow. Leili got sick. It was as if she had fallen from a high throne “into the well of illness.” She alone “swallowed grief” and is now ready to part with her soul. Leili knows one thing: Majnun will come to her grave. Saying goodbye to her mother, the dying woman leaves Majnun in her care.

Majnun's tears over Leili's grave are inexhaustible, as if a downpour poured from dark clouds. He spins in a mad dance and composes poems about eternal separation, But “soon, soon, soon” Allah will unite him with the departed one. Only two or three more days did Majnun live in such a way that “death is better than that life.” He dies hugging the grave of his beloved. His decayed bones are guarded for a long time by faithful wolves. Majnun's tribe learns of his death. Having mourned the sufferers, the Arabs bury him next to Leili and plant a flower garden around the graves. Lovers come here, here the suffering are healed of illnesses and sorrows.

Retold

The action of the poem takes place in Arabia, where the main character lives - the ruler of a tribe named Amir, famous for his hospitality and generosity to the poor. In his glory he was like a caliph, but he had no children, which is why he was like a candle that did not give light. But then, one truly wonderful day, Allah heard Amir’s prayers and sent him a beautiful son, whom Amir named Keys, which translated from Arabic means “Measure of Talent.” The child was entrusted to the nurse, and time filled him with “the milk of tenderness.” The boy, who excelled in his studies, studied with several girls, among whom was one who stood out for her intelligence, purity of soul and rare beauty. The girl’s name was Leili, which translated means “Night,” and her beautiful curls looked like night. Case and Leili fell in love with each other with pure mutual love.

While other children were learning the basics of arithmetic, Case and Leili were mastering the primer of love. But you can’t hide love. Therefore, those who had not experienced love in their lives nicknamed Case, who was exhausted from its torment, Majnun, which translates as “Madman.” To avoid gossip, Leili's relatives hid the girl from Majnun. In tears, he wandered through the bazaar and through the streets, singing ghazals - songs similar to a groan that he himself composed, and after him came from all sides “Madman!” Every morning Majnun retires into the desert, and at night he secretly makes his way to the house where his love lives in order to kiss the tightly locked door. One day Majnun and his friends came to his beloved’s tent. Leili revealed her face, removing the coverlet. Majnun laments his evil fate. Fearing the machinations and intrigues of envious people, Leili and Majnun looked at each other with an aloof look, not realizing that evil fate would very soon take even this away from them.

Majnun's father decides to ask the elders of his tribe for advice. The sages advise him to go to the tribe of the beautiful Leili and marry her to his son. Majnun's father follows the advice of the elders, but Leili's father rejects his matchmaking. Case, although of noble birth, is mad, which is known to everyone around, and Leili’s father does not want a marriage with a madman for his daughter, because it does not bode well. Majnun's entire family tries to persuade him, offering him other beautiful brides. In response to this, Majnun leaves his father's house. In torn rags, he wanders through the mountains and sands of the desert, runs around the city, shouting the name of his beloved. Wanting to save his son, the father decides to take him with him on the Hajj - he hopes that worshiping the Kaaba will help Case. However, all Majnun’s prayers are not at all about healing himself, but only about the happiness of his beloved Leili. His illness is incurable.

The tribe to which Leili belongs is outraged by the gossip and rumors of the nomads, from which the beauty has become bitter, like a flower withered in the heat. The leader of the army draws his sword - Majnun faces death. His father tries to find him in the desert, wanting to save him. He finds his son sick, possessed by an evil spirit, in some ruins. The father takes Majnun home, but the madman again runs away from home, striving only for Leili’s homeland - the desired Nejd, composing new gazelles along the way.

Meanwhile, Leili is overcome by despair. Trying not to be noticed by her loved ones, Leili climbs to the roof of her house and stares at the road all day long in the hope that Majnun will come to her. People passing by greet her with lines from Majnun's poems, and she also responds to them with poems. One day, while Leili is walking in a flowering garden, she hears a voice that begins to choke her with sobs. A voice sings a new ghazal: “Majnun suffers so much, and Leili... In what spring garden is she walking?” Leili's friend, shocked by the way Leili is suffering, shares this with her mother. Leili's father and mother, in an attempt to save their beloved daughter, agree to marry her to a rich young man named Ibn Salam, accepting his matchmaking.

The mighty Naufal heard about Majnun’s sorrows and was filled with compassion for the poor crazy wanderer. He offers the young man help and invites him to his home. Majnun promises to be patient and wait, pulling himself together. Caressed and warmed by his new friend Naufal, Majnun becomes cheerful, together they drink wine, and the young man even gains the glory of the wisest in the assembly of sages. However, time passes, Majnun's patience begins to run out. He turns to Naufal, saying that he intends to give up his life if he does not see Leili now. Naufal gathers a selected army, with which he goes into battle against the Leili tribe. He demands that the girl be given to him, but he fails to win the bloody battle and returns empty-handed. Majnun loses heart, his lamentations intensify. Unable to listen to them any longer, Naufal gathers his army for the second time.

This time the victory goes to him, but Leili’s father is now ready to prefer even her slavery and death to her daughter’s marriage to a madman. Those close to Naufal support the old man in this fatherly duty of honor. The saddened Naufal again withdraws his army. Hope leaves Majnun, and he leaves Naufal's house. For a long time he wanders through the sands of the desert, and finally he finds himself at the house of a poor old woman. The old woman ties him to a rope so that she can lead him on it and beg for alms. Having descended to a state of complete madness, Majnun reaches the places where Leili lives. Here he is found by his relatives, who, to their great despair, see that completely everything has been erased from his memory, except for one single name - Leili.

The groom's messenger, Ibn Salam, comes to Leili's father's house. He brings a huge bride price - ransom, many rare gifts from China, Taif and Byzantium. They play a wedding, after which Ibn Salam takes the newlywed to his place. However, having tried to touch his young wife, Ibn Salam receives a slap in the face. Leili is ready to take the life of her unloved husband and die herself. Ibn Salam is in love with her, so he agrees to be content with only the sight of his wife. Majnun learns from the messenger about Leili's marriage. He also learns that Leili is chaste and sad. Confusion engulfs Majnun. His father dreams that perhaps one day he will be able to get a medicine that can heal his unfortunate son.

Peering at the features of the old man who came to visit him, Majnun does not recognize his own father. He who does not even remember himself is unable to remember others. The father, sobbing, tells Majnun who he is. He tries to call his son to prudence and courage, but Majnun does not hear him. A father, filled with despair, says goodbye to his crazy, doomed son. After some time, Majnun meets a man who reminds him that, in addition to Leili, he also has relatives and friends; from him Majnun learns about the death of his father. Majnun grieves, he goes to his father’s grave and cries there day and night, repenting and asking for forgiveness from the one who gave him life. Now Majnun's friends are wild animals living in the desert, with a pack of predators he shares the offerings of those who come out of curiosity to look at the madman. He sends prayers to the Almighty, the heavens and the stars. And then the day comes when he unexpectedly receives a letter from his beloved Leili.

The girl conveyed the message to the messenger, accompanying him with bitter words that she was crazier than a thousand Majnuns. The unfortunate man reads the letter, which talks about the pity Leili feels for her childhood playmate, who because of her is tormented by his madness. In the message, Leyli assures Majnun of her chastity and fidelity, calls on him to be patient, and also mourns his father as if she were her own. Leyli asks Majnun not to be sad that he has no friends at all, because she is his friend. In a hurry, Majnun rushes to write a response to Leili’s letter. When Leili receives an answer, after just one glance at him, tears begin to flow from her eyes, watering the message of a madman, full of impatience, love, as well as reproaches and envy for her husband Ibn Salam, whom Majnun calls lucky if only because he he has the opportunity to see her, his wife. Majnun writes that there is no medicine for him, no balm can heal him, but if everything is fine with Leyli, then there is nothing to be sad about.

His uncle named Selim Amirit comes to Majnun’s desert to visit his nephew. Fearing the wild beasts surrounding Majnun, his uncle greets him while keeping his distance. He brings food and clothes to the hermit, but all the food goes to a pack of animals, because Majnun himself eats only herbs. Selim tries to please his nephew by telling him a parable praising a hermit who resembles Majnun. Majnun is delighted that his uncle understands him, he asks Selim about his friends, asks how they are doing, inquires about his mother’s health, and says that he longs to see a face full of nobility. Feeling that his nephew loves his mother, Uncle Selim brings her to him.

The mother bandages her son's wounds and washes his hair. However, neither the mother’s tears nor her complaints can change anything. Majnun asks to be left with his sorrows. He falls to the ground, kissing the ashes at his mother's feet. The mother returns home in tears and, upon returning, leaves this mortal world. Heartbroken, Selim returns to Majnun with this sad news. Majnun sobs, falling to the ground like glass on a stone; his moans are like the cry of chang strings. He sheds tears at the graves of his deceased parents, his loved ones try to bring him to his senses, they want to help him stay in his native land, but the madman runs away again, into the mountains. It seems to him that the basis of life is death, and that life itself is only a moment, even if it could last at least a thousand years.

Leili suffers a series of misfortunes, like a snake's tail, she reaches out for her. Her husband, mourning his unenviable fate, guards his wife. He tries to please his wife, to caress her, but she is cold and always stern with him. One day an old man comes to their house and tells them about the fate of a madman, “wandering through the oases and shouting like a herald, calling for his beloved.” From sobbing, Leili's flexible frame became thinner than reeds. She sends the old man for Majnun, giving him her pearl earrings.

Wild animals, like treasure, guard the wanderer lying at the foot of the mountain, surrounding him on all sides. Majnun noticed the old man coming towards him from afar and rushed towards him, like a child to milk. Finally, the Almighty heard his prayers; he was promised a date with his beloved in a palm grove. Majnun feels like someone who, tormented by thirst, is unable to move away from the Euphrates, or like the wind who is unable to fight the ambergris. He sits in the appointed place in a rose under a palm tree, waiting for Leili. And then she appears, accompanied by an old man. She approaches, but stops ten steps from her beloved. Although she has no love for her husband, she is incapable of betrayal. Leyli turns to Majnun with a request to read poetry to her. Majnun begins to sing for her. He sings that she reminds him of a mirage - a spring that a thirsty traveler dreamed of. He no longer believes in the possibility of earthly happiness. Afterwards, Majnun returns to her desert, and the devastated Leili returns to her tent.

A noble young man named Salam of Baghdad, who knew the high feeling of love, heard the love songs of Majnun. He found the mad hermit and offered him his service, asking him to be considered one of the flock of wild animals tamed by Majnun. Salam can't wait to hear Majnun's songs about unhappy love. The hermit affectionately greets the young man and tries to reason with him, explaining that one who is tired even of himself cannot get along with anyone other than a pack of wild animals. Salam begs Majnun not to reject the help he can offer. Then Majnun decides to condescend to Salam’s pleas, but refuses the exquisite dishes that Salam brought him. Salam speaks words of consolation to Majnun, saying that he himself in the past experienced feelings similar to those of Majnun, but his passions left him. Salam compares the passing of youth to the way a fiery furnace cools down.

Majnun replies that he is the king of kings of love. He tells Salam that love is irresistible, and that only love is the meaning of his entire existence. Majnun's interlocutor is ashamed and falls silent. Salam and Majnun spend several days traveling together, but Salam understands that he is unable to live without bread and without sleep. He says goodbye to Majnun and rushes back to Baghdad, filling his memory with a great many qasidas.

Leili and her husband are like a treasure and the serpent that guards it. Leili pretends to be cheerful and cheerful when she is with Ibn Salam, and when there is no one next to her, she indulges in sobs, immersing herself in them until the moment she falls to the ground, exhausted.

One day her husband, Ibn Salam, fell ill. The doctor who came helped him regain his strength, but Ibn Salam did not want to listen to the doctor’s advice. The first illness exhausted Ibn Salam's body, and the second one transferred his body to the wind. The soul of Leili's husband left the bodily burden, leaving behind all worldly torment.

Grieving Leili mourns her deceased husband, although now she is free, because she dreamed of this. Grieving and sad about the departed, in the depths of her heart Leili indulges in memories of her beloved. The custom of the Arabs requires the widow to remain in her tent and sit at home for two years, without revealing her face to anyone. Pesky visitors no longer bother her, and now, alas, she has a completely legitimate reason to shed tears day and night. But Leili is not crying for her husband, she is mourning a completely different misfortune - separation from her only beloved, which has been going on for her entire life. She appeals to the Almighty, begging to connect her with her torch, the fire of which burns her to the ground.

It's time for leaf fall. The face of the once blooming garden near Leili’s house began to turn yellow, and bloody drops began to flow from the leaves. Leili was overcome by illness - as if she had fallen from some high throne into a deep well of illness. Her loneliness has become disgusting to her, she has swallowed plenty of grief, and now she is more than ever ready to part with her tormented soul. She has no doubt about one thing: she knows that her loved one will come to her grave. Saying goodbye to her mother before leaving for the other world, Leili instructs her to take Majnun into her care.

The inconsolable Majnun sheds endless tears over the grave of his beloved, his grief does not cease, like a downpour gushing from a black thundercloud. He spins in his crazy dance, composing his poems about eternal, never-ending separation. But he believes that soon, by the will of Allah, he will unite with the untimely departed Leili. Majnun lived only a few days, waiting for death, the deliverer from the suffering of this life. He dies, continuing to hug the grave of his beloved. A pack of faithful wolves will guard his decayed bones for a long time. The news of his death reaches Majnun's tribe. The Arabs bury Majnun next to Leili, mourning both sufferers. A beautiful flower garden is laid out around their graves, where all the lovers subsequently come, as well as all the suffering, who are healed here of all their ailments and sorrows.

A summary of the novel “Leyla and Majnun” was retold by OsipovaA. WITH.

Please note that this is only a brief summary of the literary work “Leili and Majnun”. This summary omits many important points and quotes.

In Arabia lives a successful, hospitable, generous ruler of the tribe, Amir. He is “glorious like a caliph,” but is like a “candle without light,” for he is devoid of offspring. Finally, Allah heeded his prayers and gave him a beautiful son. The baby is entrusted to the nurse, and time pours “the milk of tenderness” into the growing child. Case - this is the name of the boy, which means “Measure of talent” in Arabic, succeeds in his studies. Several girls study together with the boys. One of them became famous early on for her intelligence, spiritual purity, and rare beauty. Her curls are like night, and her name is Leili (“Night”). Case, "by stealing her heart, destroyed his soul." Children's love is mutual. Fellow students learn arithmetic, while lovers compose a dictionary of love. Love cannot be hidden. Case is exhausted by love, and those who did not stumble on her path nicknamed him Majnun - “Madman.” Fearing gossip, the family hid Leili from Majnun. Sobbing, he wanders through the streets and the bazaar. Moaning, he sings the songs he composed. And everyone shouts after him: “Madman! Madman! In the morning, Majnun goes into the desert, and at night he secretly makes his way to his beloved’s house to kiss the locked door. One day, with several faithful friends, Majnun comes to his beloved’s tent. Leili removes the blanket, revealing her face. Majnun complains to her about her evil fate. Out of fear of the machinations of their rivals, they look at each other aloofly and do not know that fate will soon deprive them of even this single glance.

After consulting with the elders of the tribe, Majnun’s father decided to “buy back the jewelry of the foreigners at the cost of hundreds of pieces of jewelry.” At the head of a magnificent caravan, he solemnly goes to the Leili tribe - to woo the beauty for his son. But Leili’s father rejects the match: Case is of noble birth, but insane, marriage with a madman does not bode well. Relatives and friends exhort Majnun and offer him hundreds of beautiful and rich brides in return for Leili. But Majnun leaves his home and in rags, shouting “Leili! Leili! runs through the streets, wanders in the mountains and in the sands of the desert. Saving his son, the father takes him with him on the Hajj, hoping that worshiping the Kaaba will help in trouble, but Majnun prays not for his healing, but only for Leili’s happiness. His illness is incurable.

The Leili tribe, outraged by the gossip of the nomads, the “fuss,” which made the beauty “as if in the heat,” became embittered. The war chief of the tribe draws his sword. Death threatens Majnun. His father is looking for him in the desert to save him, and finds him in some ruins - a sick man, possessed by an evil spirit. He takes Majnun home, but the madman escapes, rushing only to the desired Nejd, the homeland of Leili. On the way, he composes new gazelles.

Meanwhile, Leili is in despair. Unnoticed by her family, she climbs onto the roof of the house and watches the road all day, hoping that Majnun will come. Passers-by greet her with poems from her beloved. She responds to poetry with verses, as if “jasmine sends a message to the cypress.” One day, while walking through a blooming garden, Leili hears someone’s voice singing a new ghazal: “Majnun is suffering, and Leili... In what spring garden is she walking?” The friend, shocked by Leili’s sobs, tells her mother everything. Trying to save their daughter, Leili's parents favorably accept the matchmaking of the rich young man Ibn Salam.

The mighty Naufal learned about Majnun’s sorrows and was filled with compassion for him. He invited the unfortunate wanderer to his place, caressed him, and offered help. Majnun promises to pull himself together and wait patiently. He is cheerful, drinks wine with a new friend and is considered the wisest in the assembly of wise men. But days pass, patience runs out, and Majnun tells Naufal that if he does not see Leyli, he will give up his life. Then Naufal leads a selected army into battle and demands Leili from her tribe, but he failed to win the bloody battle. Unable to hear the laments of the dispirited Majnun, Naufal gathers his army again and finally wins. However, even now Leili’s father is ready to prefer even his slavery and the death of his daughter to her marriage to a madman. And those close to Naufal are forced to agree with the old man. Naufal leads his army away in sadness. Majnun, who has lost hope, disappears. He wanders for a long time in the sands of the desert, finally ends up with a beggar old woman, who leads him on a rope and collects alms. In a state of complete madness, Majnun reaches Leili's native place. Here his relatives found him and, to their great despair, became convinced that he had “forgotten both his dwellings and ruins,” everything had been erased from his memory except the name Leili.

With a huge ransom, with rare gifts from Byzantium, China and Taif, Ibn Salam's envoy comes to Leili's father. They played a wedding, and Ibn Salam took Leili to his home. But when the lucky man tried to touch the newlywed, he received a slap in the face. Leili is ready to kill her unloved husband and die. The lover Ibn Salam agrees to limit himself to “seeing her.” Majnun learns about Leili's marriage, the messenger also tells him about Leili's sadness and chastity. Majnun is confused. The unfortunate man's father dreams of finding a medicine that would heal his son. Peering into the face of the old man who came to him, Majnun does not recognize his own father. After all, he who has forgotten himself will not be able to remember others. The father identifies himself, cries with his son and calls on him to courage and prudence, but Majnun does not heed him. The desperate father sadly says goodbye to the doomed madman. Soon Majnun learns about his father’s death from a stranger who reminds him that “besides Leili, there are relatives.” Day and night, Majnun cries at the grave and asks for forgiveness from the “star that gave light.” From now on, wild animals of the desert became his friends. Like a shepherd with his flock, Majnun walks among a crowd of predators and shares with them the offerings of the curious. He sends his prayers to heaven, to the palace of the Almighty, and prays to the stars. Suddenly he receives a letter from Leili. The beauty handed her message to the messenger with the bitter words: “I am crazier than a thousand Majnuns.” Majnun reads a message in which Leyli speaks of her pity for her childhood playmate who is suffering because of her, assures of her fidelity and chastity, mourns Majnun’s father as if she were her own, and calls for patience. Leili writes: “Don’t be sad that you have no friends, am I not your friend?” In a hurry, Majnun writes a reply letter. Leili looked at Majnun’s message and watered it with tears. The letter contains words of love and impatience, reproaches and envy towards the lucky Ibn Salam, who at least sees Leili’s face. “The balm will not heal my wound,” writes Majnun, “but if you are healthy, there is no sadness.”

Majnun is visited in the desert by his uncle Selim Amirit. Fearing the animals surrounding his nephew, he greets him from afar. He brought clothes and food to Majnun, but the animals also got halva and cookies. Majnun himself eats only herbs. Selim strives to please Majnun and tells a parable in which a similar hermit is praised. Delighted by the understanding, Majnun asks to talk about the affairs of his friends, inquires about his mother’s health: “How does that bird with broken wings live?.. I long to see her noble face.” Feeling that the voluntary exile loves his mother, Selim brings her to Majnun. But the tearful complaints of the mother, who bandaged her son’s wounds and washed his hair, are powerless. "Leave me with my sorrows!" - Majnun exclaims and, falling, kisses the ashes at his mother’s feet. Crying, the mother returned home and said goodbye to the mortal world. This sad news is brought to him by the contrite Selim. Majnun began to sob like the strings of chang and fell to the ground like glass on a stone. He cries at the graves of his parents, his relatives bring him to his senses, try to detain him in his native land, but Majnun runs away groaning into the mountains. Life, even if it lasted a thousand years, seems to him like a moment, because “its basis is death.”

Like a snake's tail, a string of disasters follows Leili. The husband guards her and mourns his fate. He tries to caress Leili, to please her, but she is stern and cold. An elder who came to the house talks about the fate of the one who “screams like a herald and wanders through the oases,” calling for his beloved. Leili’s cypress frame became a “reed” from her sobs. Having given the old man her pearl earrings, she sends him for Majnun.

The wanderer lies at the foot of the mountain, animals surrounded him, guarding him like a treasure. Seeing the old man from afar, Majnun rushed to him, “like a child to milk.” Finally, he is promised a date in a palm grove. “How can a thirsty person escape from the Euphrates? How can the wind fight ambergris? Majnun sits under a palm tree in the appointed place and waits for Leili. Leili, accompanied by the elder, walks, but stops ten steps from her beloved. She does not love her husband, but is incapable of betrayal. He asks Majnun to read poetry, Majnun sang for Leili. He sings that she seems to him like a mirage, a spring that is only dreamed of by a thirsty traveler. There is no longer any faith in earthly happiness... Once again Majnun rushes into the desert, and the gloomy Leili returns to her tent. Songs about Majnun's unhappy love were heard by the noble young man Salam of Baghdad, who had experienced sublime feelings. Salam finds Majnun and offers him his service. He longs to hear the songs of Majnun and asks to be considered one of the tamed animals. Affectionately greeting Salam, Majnun tries to reason with him. Tired of himself, he will not get along with anyone except animals. Salam begs not to reject his help. Majnun condescends to pleas, but is unable to accept the exquisite treat. Salam consoles Majnun. After all, he himself experienced a similar feeling, but burned out; “When youth passes, the fiery furnace cools down.” Majnun responds by calling himself the king of kings of love. Love is the meaning of his whole life, it is irresistible. The interlocutor falls silent in shame. New friends travel together for several days, but Salam cannot live without sleep and bread, and so he says goodbye to Majnun and goes to Baghdad, “loading his memory with many qasidas.”

Leili is like a treasure that is guarded by snakes. She pretends to be cheerful with Ibn Salam, but sobs alone and, exhausted, falls to the ground.

Ibn Salam fell ill. The doctor restored his strength, but Ibn Salam does not listen to the healer’s advice. The body, exhausted by “the first illness, was transferred to the wind by the second illness.” Ibn Salam's soul "was freed from worldly torment."

The saddened Leili mourns him, although she has found the desired freedom. But, grieving for the departed, in her soul she remembers her beloved. According to the custom of the Arabs, Leili was left alone in her tent, because now she must sit at home for two years, not showing her face to anyone. She got rid of the annoying visitors, and, alas, now she has a legitimate reason to cry. But Leili mourns another grief - separation from her beloved. She prays: “Lord, unite me with my torch, from the fire of whose suffering I am burning!”

On leaf fall days, bloody drops flow from the leaves, and the “face of the garden” turns yellow. Leili got sick. It was as if she had fallen from a high throne “into the well of illness.” She alone “swallowed grief” and is now ready to part with her soul. Leili knows one thing: Majnun will come to her grave. Saying goodbye to her mother, the dying woman leaves Majnun in her care.

Majnun's tears over Leili's grave are inexhaustible, as if a downpour poured from dark clouds. He spins in a mad dance and composes poems about eternal separation, But “soon, soon, soon” Allah will unite him with the departed one. Only two or three more days did Majnun live in such a way that “death is better than that life.” He dies hugging the grave of his beloved. His decayed bones are guarded for a long time by faithful wolves. Majnun's tribe learns of his death. Having mourned the sufferers, the Arabs bury him next to Leili and plant a flower garden around the graves. Lovers come here, here the suffering are healed of illnesses and sorrows.

Ganjavi Nizami

"Leili and Majnun"

In Arabia there lives a successful, hospitable, generous ruler of the tribe Amir. He is “glorious like a caliph,” but is like a “candle without light,” for he is without offspring. Finally, Allah heeded his prayers and gave him a beautiful son. The baby is entrusted to the nurse, and time pours “the milk of tenderness” into the growing child. Case, as the boy was named, which means “Measure of Talent” in Arabic, excels in his studies. Several girls study together with the boys. One of them became famous early on for her intelligence, spiritual purity, and rare beauty. Her curls are like night, and her name is Leili (“Night”). Case, "by stealing her heart, destroyed his soul." Children's love is mutual. Fellow students learn arithmetic, while lovers compose a dictionary of love. Love cannot be hidden. Case is exhausted by love, and those who did not stumble on her path nicknamed him Majnun - “Madman.” Fearing gossip, the family hid Leili from Majnun. Sobbing, he wanders through the streets and the bazaar. Moaning, he sings the songs he composed. And everyone shouts after him: “Madman! Madman! In the morning, Majnun goes into the desert, and at night he secretly makes his way to his beloved’s house to kiss the locked door. One day, with several faithful friends, Majnun comes to his beloved’s tent. Leili removes the blanket, revealing her face. Majnun complains to her about her evil fate. Out of fear of the machinations of their rivals, they look at each other aloofly and do not know that fate will soon deprive them of even this single glance.

After consulting with the elders of the tribe, Majnun’s father decided to “buy back the jewelry of the foreigners at the cost of hundreds of pieces of jewelry.” At the head of a magnificent caravan, he solemnly goes to the Leili tribe to woo the beauty for his son. But Leili’s father rejects the match: Case is of noble birth, but insane, marriage with a madman does not bode well. Relatives and friends exhort Majnun and offer him hundreds of beautiful and rich brides in return for Leili. But Majnun leaves his home and in rags, shouting “Leili! Leili! runs through the streets, wanders in the mountains and in the sands of the desert. Saving his son, the father takes him with him on the Hajj, hoping that worshiping the Kaaba will help in trouble, but Majnun prays not for his own healing, but only for Leili’s happiness. His illness is incurable.

The Leili tribe, outraged by the gossip of the nomads, the “fussiness” that made the beauty “as if in the heat,” became embittered. The war chief of the tribe draws his sword. Death threatens Majnun. His father is looking for him in the desert to save him, and finds him in some ruins - a sick man, possessed by an evil spirit. He takes Majnun home, but the madman escapes, rushing only to the desired Nejd, the homeland of Leili. On the way, he composes new gazelles.

Meanwhile, Leili is in despair. Unnoticed by her family, she climbs onto the roof of the house and watches the road all day, hoping that Majnun will come. Passers-by greet her with poems from her beloved. She responds to poetry with verses, as if “jasmine sends a message to the cypress.” One day, while walking through a blooming garden, Leili hears someone’s voice singing a new ghazal: “Majnun is suffering, and Leili... In what spring garden is she walking?” The friend, shocked by Leili’s sobs, tells her mother everything. Trying to save their daughter, Leili's parents favorably accept the matchmaking of the rich young man Ibn Salam.

The mighty Naufal learned about Majnun’s sorrows and was filled with compassion for him. He invited the unfortunate wanderer to his place, caressed him, and offered help. Majnun promises to pull himself together and wait patiently. He is cheerful, drinks wine with a new friend and is considered the wisest in the assembly of wise men. But days pass, patience runs out, and Majnun tells Naufal that if he does not see Leyli, he will give up his life. Then Naufal leads a selected army into battle and demands Leili from her tribe, but he failed to win the bloody battle. Unable to hear the laments of the dispirited Majnun, Naufal gathers his army again and finally wins. However, even now Leili’s father is ready to prefer even his slavery and the death of his daughter to her marriage to a madman. And those close to Naufal are forced to agree with the old man. Naufal leads his army away in sadness. Majnun, who has lost hope, disappears. He wanders for a long time in the sands of the desert, finally ends up with a beggar old woman, who leads him on a rope and collects alms. In a state of complete madness, Majnun reaches Leili's native place. Here his relatives found him and, to their great despair, became convinced that he had “forgotten both his dwellings and ruins”, everything had been erased from his memory except the name Leili.

With a huge ransom, with rare gifts from Byzantium, China and Taif, Ibn Salam's envoy comes to Leili's father. They played a wedding, and Ibn Salam took Leili to his home. But when the lucky man tried to touch the newlywed, he received a slap in the face. Leili is ready to kill her unloved husband and die. Ibn Salam, in love, agrees to limit himself to “seeing her.” Majnun learns about Leili's marriage, the messenger also tells him about Leili's sadness and chastity. Majnun is confused. The unfortunate man's father dreams of finding a medicine that would heal his son. Peering into the face of the old man who came to him, Majnun does not recognize his own father. After all, he who has forgotten himself will not be able to remember others. The father identifies himself, cries with his son and calls on him to courage and prudence, but Majnun does not heed him. The desperate father sadly says goodbye to the doomed madman. Soon Majnun learns about his father’s death from a stranger who reminds him that “besides Leili, there are relatives.” Day and night, Majnun cries at the grave and asks for forgiveness from the “star that gave light.” From now on, wild animals of the desert became his friends. Like a shepherd with his flock, Majnun walks among a crowd of predators and shares with them the offerings of the curious. He sends his prayers to the heavens, to the palace of the Almighty, and prays to the stars. Suddenly he receives a letter from Leili. The beauty handed her message to the messenger with the bitter words: “I am crazier than a thousand Majnuns.” Majnun reads a message in which Leili speaks of her pity for her childhood playmate who is suffering because of her, assures her of her fidelity and chastity, mourns Majnun’s father as if she were her own, and calls for patience. Leili writes: “Don’t be sad that you have no friends, am I not your friend?” In a hurry, Majnun writes a reply letter. Leili looked at Majnun’s message and watered it with tears. The letter contains words of love and impatience, reproaches and envy towards the lucky Ibn Salam, who at least sees Leili’s face. “The balm will not heal my wound,” writes Majnun, “but if you are healthy, there is no sadness.”

Majnun is visited in the desert by his uncle Selim Amirit. Fearing the animals surrounding his nephew, he greets him from afar. He brought clothes and food to Majnun, but the animals also got halva and cookies. Majnun himself eats only herbs. Selim strives to please Majnun and tells a parable in which a similar hermit is praised. Delighted by the understanding, Majnun asks to talk about the affairs of his friends, inquires about his mother’s health: “How does that bird with broken wings live?.. I long to see its noble face.” Feeling that the voluntary exile loves his mother, Selim brings her to Majnun. But the tearful complaints of the mother, who bandaged her son’s wounds and washed his hair, are powerless. "Leave me with my sorrows!" - Majnun exclaims and, falling, kisses the ashes at his mother’s feet. Crying, the mother returned home and said goodbye to the mortal world. This sad news is brought to him by the contrite Selim. Majnun began to sob like the strings of chang and fell to the ground like glass on a stone. He cries at the graves of his parents, his relatives bring him to his senses, try to detain him in his native land, but Majnun runs away groaning into the mountains. Life, even if it lasted a thousand years, seems to him like a moment, because “its basis is death.”

Like a snake's tail, a string of disasters follows Leili. Her husband watches over her and mourns his fate. He tries to caress Leili, to please her, but she is stern and cold. An elder who came to the house talks about the fate of the one who “screams like a herald and wanders through the oases,” calling for his beloved. Leili’s cypress frame became a “reed” from her sobs. Having given the old man her pearl earrings, she sends him for Majnun.

The wanderer lies at the foot of the mountain, animals surrounded him, guarding him like a treasure. Seeing the old man from afar, Majnun rushed to him, “like a child to milk.” Finally, he is promised a date in a palm grove. “How can a thirsty person escape from the Euphrates? How can the wind fight ambergris? Majnun sits under a palm tree in the appointed place and waits for Leili. Leili, accompanied by the elder, walks, but stops ten steps from her beloved. She does not love her husband, but is incapable of betrayal. He asks Majnun to read poetry, Majnun sang for Leili. He sings that she seems to him like a mirage, a spring that is only dreamed of by a thirsty traveler. There is no longer any faith in earthly happiness... Once again Majnun rushes into the desert, and the gloomy Leili returns to her tent. Songs about Majnun's unhappy love were heard by the noble young man Salam of Baghdad, who had experienced sublime feelings. Salam finds Majnun and offers him his service. He longs to hear the songs of Majnun and asks to consider himself one of the tamed animals. Affectionately greeting Salam, Majnun tries to reason with him. Tired of himself, he will not get along with anyone except animals. Salam begs not to reject his help. Majnun condescends to pleas, but is unable to accept the exquisite treat. Salam consoles Majnun. After all, he himself experienced a similar feeling, but burned out; “When youth passes, the fiery furnace cools down.” Majnun in response calls himself the king of kings of love. Love is the meaning of his whole life, it is irresistible. The interlocutor falls silent in shame. New friends travel together for several days, but Salam cannot live without sleep and bread, and so he says goodbye to Majnun and goes to Baghdad, “loading his memory with many qasidas.”

Leili is like a treasure guarded by snakes. She pretends to be cheerful with Ibn Salam, but sobs alone and, exhausted, falls to the ground.

Ibn Salam fell ill. The doctor restored his strength, but Ibn Salam does not listen to the healer’s advice. The body, exhausted by “the first illness, was transferred to the wind by the second illness.” Ibn Salam's soul "was freed from worldly torment."

The saddened Leili mourns him, although she has found the desired freedom. But, grieving for the departed, in her soul she remembers her beloved. According to the custom of the Arabs, Leili was left alone in her tent, because now she must sit at home for two years, not showing her face to anyone. She got rid of the annoying visitors, and, alas, now she has a legitimate reason to cry. But Leili mourns another grief - separation from her beloved. She prays: “Lord, unite me with my torch, from the fire of whose suffering I am burning!”

On leaf fall days, bloody drops flow from the leaves, and the “face of the garden” turns yellow. Leili got sick. It was as if she had fallen from a high throne “into the well of illness.” She alone “swallowed grief” and is now ready to part with her soul. Leili knows one thing: Majnun will come to her grave. Saying goodbye to her mother, the dying woman leaves Majnun in her care.

Majnun's tears over Leili's grave are inexhaustible, as if a downpour poured from dark clouds. He spins in a mad dance and composes poems about eternal separation, But “soon, soon, soon” Allah will unite him with the departed one. Only two or three more days did Majnun live in such a way that “death is better than that life.” He dies hugging the grave of his beloved. His decayed bones are guarded for a long time by faithful wolves. Majnun's tribe learns of his death. Having mourned the sufferers, the Arabs bury him next to Leili and plant a flower garden around the graves. Lovers come here, here the suffering are healed of illnesses and sorrows.

Case, the son of the wealthy ruler of the Amir tribe, studies at the academy with the beautiful girl Leili. A real feeling breaks out between the young people; instead of algebra, the lovers compile a dictionary of love. Case is so infatuated with Leili that he goes crazy with his feelings for her. People call him Myungjun - madman. Fearing rumors, Leili's relatives take the girl out of town. Unhappy Myungjoon walks the streets in search of his beloved.

Case's father decides to woo Leili's parents in order to relieve his son's heartache. However, Leili's father rejects the matchmakers. Despite the fact that Case is of noble birth, he is insane, and marriage with a madman will not bring anything good. Rejected, Myungjoon leaves his home and runs to the mountains. The father finds his unhappy son and takes him on a pilgrimage to Mecca, in the hope that worship of the Kaaba will cure his son of love. But Case refuses to pray for healing; his illness is incurable.

Meanwhile, a wealthy young man, Ibn Salam, wooed Leili and her parents married the girl to him. However, Leili is cold and does not accept her husband’s affections. She writes letters to Myungjoon and dreams only of him. Meanwhile, Menjun's father dies, the unfortunate young man sobs at his father's grave and returns to the desert again. There Case is found by his uncle, who, showing understanding, returns him home to his mother. But, despite this, Menjun again tries to go into the desert to live there among the animals. This breaks the mother's heart, and she leaves for another world. Case runs into the desert. He lives with animals and eats only grass.

Leili continues to live with her hated husband, but still dreams of seeing Case. He bribes the wanderer and sends him to Menjun with a letter in which he asks for a date. Leili and Menjun meet, but the girl refuses intimacy with her beloved, despite the fact that she hates her husband, she is not capable of betrayal. Myungjoon sings his poems to her, but they separate. Having heard Case’s beautiful singing, Salam of Baghdad asks to be his student. Menjun accepts him, but Salam cannot stand wandering through the desert without food and sleep, so he leaves his teacher.

Ibn Salam falls ill and, despite the efforts of doctors, dies. Leili is sad, although she has found the long-awaited freedom. The girl is in mourning and sincerely grieves, but not for her husband, but for separation from her lover. Soon she falls ill, her health is undermined by mental suffering. The girl dies with the thought that Myungjoon will come to her grave. Case comes to mourn his beloved, he spends three days at her grave and dies from the grief tormenting him. Myungjun's family buries him next to Leili. Their grave becomes a symbol of eternal love.

One day, Majnun accidentally walked across the prayer rug of a man bowing in prayer. The worshiper had to pause and exclaimed:
- Hey, you! I was immersed in prayer, in conversation with God, and you broke our connection!
Majnun smiled and replied:
- I’m just in love with a person and I’m so fascinated by her that I didn’t even notice you, but you’re in love with God - and managed to notice me?!

Leili and Majnun (Majnun)
Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia

Leyli and Majnun (Arabic: مجنون و ليلى‎‎, Persian: لیلی و مجنون‎, Azeri: Leyli və Məcnun) is a tragic love story, popular in the Near and Middle East, especially in Iran and Azerbaijan. The story is based on real events and describes the life of an Arab youth named Gais al-Mulawwah, who lived in the 7th century in the territory of modern Saudi Arabia.
The tragic story of Leili and Majnun had a significant impact on the cultures of the Middle East and Transcaucasia. In the 12th century, the classic of Persian poetry Nizami Ganjavi, based on this story, wrote his own poem, which became one of the parts of his Five. The theme of Leyli and Majnun is reflected in the opera of the same name by the famous Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov. The classic of Persian poetry, Fuzuli, also belongs to Peru, the poem “Leili and Majnun”, written by him in 1535. Motifs from Layli and Majnun are also found in Sufi and Baha'i authors.

Plot
Ghais ibn al-Mulawwah ibn Muzahim, a young Bedouin poet from the Banu Amir tribe, fell in love with a girl from the same tribe named Layla al-Amiriyya. He composed poems and songs where he sang his love for Leila. When Gais asked Leila’s father to marry his daughter to him, he refused, because it went against the rules of the tribal system. Soon after this, Leila married another man.
When Gais learned about Leila's marriage, he left his tribe and began to wander in the desert. Gais's relatives tried to persuade him to return, but having achieved nothing, they decided to leave food for him in the middle of the desert. Sometimes he was seen reading poems about Leila to himself or writing in the sand with a cane.
Leila moved with her husband to Iraq, where she soon fell ill and died. A few years later (in 688), Gais was also found dead, lying near the grave of an unknown woman. He wrote his last three stanzas on the gravestone.
The book also describes the events that happened to Gais during his wanderings. Most of the poetry was written by him before he fell into madness. People knew that Gais was crazy with love, so they called him “Majnun Layla” (Arabic: مجنون ﻟﻴﻠﻲ‎‎ - “Driven crazy by Layla”) or simply Majnun.

History and influence
From Arabic folklore the story moved into Persian literature. The first Persian writer to write about the love story of Layla and Majnun was Rudaki. Great popularity came to the poem only with Nizami Ganjavi in ​​the 12th century. Nizami collected his vivid image of Majnun from both actually confirmed and esoteric sources. Nizami thereby had a huge influence on Persian literature, and many Persian poets, following him, began to write their variations on the theme of Layli and Majnun. In Nizami, the story of Leili and Majnun acquired some features of the Persian tradition of the epic [source not specified 649 days]: depiction of heroes, relationships between heroes, description of the area and time.
In Nizami's story, Leili and Majnun met at school and developed deep feelings for each other. However, they could not see each other due to a quarrel between their families, and Leila was given in marriage by her parents to another person. Thus, the story of Leili and Majnun became a tragedy of eternal love, strangled by intra-tribal war, in many ways similar to William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” that appeared four centuries later. There is an opinion, rejected by Shakespeare scholars, that the English poet was influenced by a translation of Nizami's poem when writing his most famous tragedy.
In the Arab tradition, the love of Leili and Majnun is called virginal - that is, the lovers never married or shared a bed. This motif became the basis of the plot for many more similar stories: Gais and Lubna, Kutair and Azza, Marwa and Majnun al-Faransi, Antara and Abla, and others.

In art
Leili and Majnun - poem by Alisher Navoi.
Layla and Majnun - Jami's poem.
Leyli and Majnun - poem by Nizami Ganjavi.
Leyli and Majnun - poem by Fuzuli.
Leili and Majnun - poem by Hagiri Tabrizi.
Layla and Majnun - drama in verse by Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa.
Leyli and Majnun - a novel by Nejati.
Leyli and Majnun is the first Muslim and Azerbaijani opera by Uzeyir Hajibeyov.
“Leyli and Majnun” - symphonic poem by Kara Garayev (1947)
Symphony No. 24 (Majnun), Op. 273 (1973), for solo tenor, violin, choir and chamber orchestra - symphony by Alan Hovaness
Leyli and Majnun - ballet staged by Kasyan Goleizovsky (1964) to music by Sergei Balasanyan.
Layli and Majnun is a 1936 Iranian film.
Leyli and Majnun is a 1960 Soviet Tajik film-ballet.
Leyli and Majnun is a 1961 Soviet Azerbaijani film.
Layli and Majnun is a 1976 Indian film.
Leyli and Majnun is a 1996 Azerbaijani film-opera.

Nizami Ganjavi

Darling, you exist, even if not with me,
But you live, and this is the earthly meaning.
If I don’t save you in my heart,
Let the enemy get it.
We are me, we are one being,
Two can take the heart of one!
Mine suffers in wounds and blood,
Give yours to me, show mercy!..
We are similar to almonds in our destiny,
Two nucleoli in a single shell...
My soul, like a thin sheet, trembles.
She doesn't belong to me - she belongs to you.
Dogs wander around your tents,
I am a stray dog ​​who has lost his home...
Why do I need the shine of gold dirhams,
Your moles are more precious to me than they are.
For one beckoning mole, I would give the ringing treasury everything...
People search for rubies in the depths of rocks,
I found a jewel in my heart,
Oh my Allah, a wonderful moment, let's go,
Let my Leili call me...

Layla and Majnun by Mahmoud Farshchyan, Iranian miniaturist
Summary of the poem
In Arabia lives a successful, hospitable, generous ruler of the tribe, Amir. He is “glorious like a caliph,” but is like a “candle without light,” for he is devoid of offspring. Finally, Allah heeded his prayers and gave him a beautiful son. The baby is entrusted to the nurse, and time pours “the milk of tenderness” into the growing child. Case - this is the name of the boy, which means “Measure of talent” in Arabic, succeeds in his studies. Several girls study together with the boys. One of them became famous early on for her intelligence, spiritual purity, and rare beauty. Her curls are like night, and her name is Leili (“Night”). Case, "by stealing her heart, destroyed his soul." Children's love is mutual. Fellow students learn arithmetic, while lovers compose a dictionary of love. Love cannot be hidden. Case is exhausted by love, and those who did not stumble on her path nicknamed him Majnun - “Madman.” Fearing gossip, the family hid Leili from Majnun. Sobbing, he wanders through the streets and the bazaar. Moaning, he sings the songs he composed. And everyone shouts after him: “Madman! Madman! In the morning, Majnun goes into the desert, and at night he secretly makes his way to his beloved’s house to kiss the locked door. One day, with several faithful friends, Majnun comes to his beloved’s tent. Leili removes the blanket, revealing her face. Majnun complains to her about her evil fate. Out of fear of the machinations of their rivals, they look at each other aloofly and do not know that fate will soon deprive them of even this single glance.

After consulting with the elders of the tribe, Majnun’s father decided to “buy back the jewelry of the foreigners at the cost of hundreds of pieces of jewelry.” At the head of a magnificent caravan, he solemnly goes to the Leili tribe - to woo the beauty for his son. But Leili’s father rejects the match: Case is of noble birth, but insane, marriage with a madman does not bode well. Relatives and friends exhort Majnun and offer him hundreds of beautiful and rich brides in return for Leili. But Majnun leaves his home and in rags, shouting “Leili! Leili! runs through the streets, wanders in the mountains and in the sands of the desert. Saving his son, the father takes him with him on the Hajj, hoping that worshiping the Kaaba will help in trouble, but Majnun prays not for his healing, but only for Leili’s happiness. His illness is incurable.

The Leili tribe, outraged by the gossip of the nomads, the “fuss,” which made the beauty “as if in the heat,” became embittered. The war chief of the tribe draws his sword. Death threatens Majnun. His father is looking for him in the desert to save him, and finds him in some ruins - a sick man, possessed by an evil spirit. He takes Majnun home, but the madman escapes, rushing only to the desired Nejd, the homeland of Leili. On the way, he composes new gazelles.

Meanwhile, Leili is in despair. Unnoticed by her family, she climbs onto the roof of the house and watches the road all day, hoping that Majnun will come. Passers-by greet her with poems from her beloved. She responds to poetry with verses, as if “jasmine sends a message to the cypress.” One day, while walking through a blooming garden, Leili hears someone’s voice singing a new ghazal: “Majnun is suffering, and Leili... In what spring garden is she walking?” The friend, shocked by Leili’s sobs, tells her mother everything. Trying to save their daughter, Leili's parents favorably accept the matchmaking of the rich young man Ibn Salam.

The mighty Naufal learned about Majnun’s sorrows and was filled with compassion for him. He invited the unfortunate wanderer to his place, caressed him, and offered help. Majnun promises to pull himself together and wait patiently. He is cheerful, drinks wine with a new friend and is considered the wisest in the assembly of wise men. But days pass, patience runs out, and Majnun tells Naufal that if he does not see Leyli, he will give up his life. Then Naufal leads a selected army into battle and demands Leili from her tribe, but he failed to win the bloody battle. Unable to hear the laments of the dispirited Majnun, Naufal gathers his army again and finally wins. However, even now Leili’s father is ready to prefer even his slavery and the death of his daughter to her marriage to a madman. And those close to Naufal are forced to agree with the old man. Naufal leads his army away in sadness. Majnun, who has lost hope, disappears. He wanders for a long time in the sands of the desert, finally ends up with a beggar old woman, who leads him on a rope and collects alms. In a state of complete madness, Majnun reaches Leili's native place. Here his relatives found him and, to their great despair, became convinced that he had “forgotten both his dwellings and ruins,” everything had been erased from his memory except the name Leili.

With a huge ransom, with rare gifts from Byzantium, China and Taif, Ibn Salam's envoy comes to Leili's father. They played a wedding, and Ibn Salam took Leili to his home. But when the lucky man tried to touch the newlywed, he received a slap in the face. Leili is ready to kill her unloved husband and die. The lover Ibn Salam agrees to limit himself to “seeing her.” Majnun learns about Leili's marriage, the messenger also tells him about Leili's sadness and chastity. Majnun is confused. The unfortunate man's father dreams of finding a medicine that would heal his son. Peering into the face of the old man who came to him, Majnun does not recognize his own father. After all, he who has forgotten himself will not be able to remember others. The father identifies himself, cries with his son and calls on him to courage and prudence, but Majnun does not heed him. The desperate father sadly says goodbye to the doomed madman. Soon Majnun learns about his father’s death from a stranger who reminds him that “besides Leili, there are relatives.” Day and night, Majnun cries at the grave and asks for forgiveness from the “star that gave light.” From now on, wild animals of the desert became his friends. Like a shepherd with his flock, Majnun walks among a crowd of predators and shares with them the offerings of the curious. He sends his prayers to heaven, to the palace of the Almighty, and prays to the stars. Suddenly he receives a letter from Leili. The beauty handed her message to the messenger with the bitter words: “I am crazier than a thousand Majnuns.” Majnun reads a message in which Leyli speaks of her pity for her childhood playmate who is suffering because of her, assures of her fidelity and chastity, mourns Majnun’s father as if she were her own, and calls for patience. Leili writes: “Don’t be sad that you have no friends, am I not your friend?” In a hurry, Majnun writes a reply letter. Leili looked at Majnun’s message and watered it with tears. The letter contains words of love and impatience, reproaches and envy towards the lucky Ibn Salam, who at least sees Leili’s face. “The balm will not heal my wound,” writes Majnun, “but if you are healthy, there is no sadness.”

Majnun is visited in the desert by his uncle Selim Amirit. Fearing the animals surrounding his nephew, he greets him from afar. He brought clothes and food to Majnun, but the animals also got halva and cookies. Majnun himself eats only herbs. Selim strives to please Majnun and tells a parable in which a similar hermit is praised. Delighted by the understanding, Majnun asks to talk about the affairs of his friends, inquires about his mother’s health: “How does that bird with broken wings live?.. I long to see her noble face.” Feeling that the voluntary exile loves his mother, Selim brings her to Majnun. But the tearful complaints of the mother, who bandaged her son’s wounds and washed his hair, are powerless. "Leave me with my sorrows!" - Majnun exclaims and, falling, kisses the ashes at his mother’s feet. Crying, the mother returned home and said goodbye to the mortal world. This sad news is brought to him by the contrite Selim. Majnun began to sob like the strings of chang and fell to the ground like glass on a stone. He cries at the graves of his parents, his relatives bring him to his senses, try to detain him in his native land, but Majnun runs away groaning into the mountains. Life, even if it lasted a thousand years, seems to him like a moment, because “its basis is death.”

Like a snake's tail, a string of disasters follows Leili. The husband guards her and mourns his fate. He tries to caress Leili, to please her, but she is stern and cold. An elder who came to the house talks about the fate of the one who “screams like a herald and wanders through the oases,” calling for his beloved. Leili’s cypress frame became a “reed” from her sobs. Having given the old man her pearl earrings, she sends him for Majnun.

The wanderer lies at the foot of the mountain, animals surrounded him, guarding him like a treasure. Seeing the old man from afar, Majnun rushed to him, “like a child to milk.” Finally, he is promised a date in a palm grove. “How can a thirsty person escape from the Euphrates? How can the wind fight ambergris? Majnun sits under a palm tree in the appointed place and waits for Leili. Leili, accompanied by the elder, walks, but stops ten steps from her beloved. She does not love her husband, but is incapable of betrayal. He asks Majnun to read poetry, Majnun sang for Leili. He sings that she seems to him like a mirage, a spring that is only dreamed of by a thirsty traveler. There is no longer any faith in earthly happiness... Once again Majnun rushes into the desert, and the gloomy Leili returns to her tent. Songs about Majnun's unhappy love were heard by the noble young man Salam of Baghdad, who had experienced sublime feelings. Salam finds Majnun and offers him his service. He longs to hear the songs of Majnun and asks to be considered one of the tamed animals. Affectionately greeting Salam, Majnun tries to reason with him. Tired of himself, he will not get along with anyone except animals. Salam begs not to reject his help. Majnun condescends to pleas, but is unable to accept the exquisite treat. Salam consoles Majnun. After all, he himself experienced a similar feeling, but burned out; “When youth passes, the fiery furnace cools down.” Majnun responds by calling himself the king of kings of love. Love is the meaning of his whole life, it is irresistible. The interlocutor falls silent in shame. New friends travel together for several days, but Salam cannot live without sleep and bread, and so he says goodbye to Majnun and goes to Baghdad, “loading his memory with many qasidas.”

Leili is like a treasure that is guarded by snakes. She pretends to be cheerful with Ibn Salam, but sobs alone and, exhausted, falls to the ground.

Ibn Salam fell ill. The doctor restored his strength, but Ibn Salam does not listen to the healer’s advice. The body, exhausted by “the first illness, was transferred to the wind by the second illness.” Ibn Salam's soul "was freed from worldly torment."

The saddened Leili mourns him, although she has found the desired freedom. But, grieving for the departed, in her soul she remembers her beloved. According to the custom of the Arabs, Leili was left alone in her tent, because now she must sit at home for two years, not showing her face to anyone. She got rid of the annoying visitors, and, alas, now she has a legitimate reason to cry. But Leili mourns another grief - separation from her beloved. She prays: “Lord, unite me with my torch, from the fire of whose suffering I am burning!”

On leaf fall days, bloody drops flow from the leaves, and the “face of the garden” turns yellow. Leili got sick. It was as if she had fallen from a high throne “into the well of illness.” She alone “swallowed grief” and is now ready to part with her soul. Leili knows one thing: Majnun will come to her grave. Saying goodbye to her mother, the dying woman leaves Majnun in her care.

Majnun's tears over Leili's grave are inexhaustible, as if a downpour poured from dark clouds. He spins in a mad dance and composes poems about eternal separation, But “soon, soon, soon” Allah will unite him with the departed one. Only two or three more days did Majnun live in such a way that “death is better than that life.” He dies hugging the grave of his beloved. His decayed bones are guarded for a long time by faithful wolves. Majnun's tribe learns of his death. Having mourned the sufferers, the Arabs bury him next to Leili and plant a flower garden around the graves. Lovers come here, here the suffering are healed of illnesses and sorrows.

Retold by M. I. Sinelnikov