Layla and Majnun Read Online Free PDF Page A

Sayyid convened a meeting of tribal elders to discuss his son’s problem. After much debate, the thoughts of those present turned to Mecca and God’s most holy house, the ka’ba. Every year, many thousands of pilgrims from near and far would visit the sacred precinct, performing their pilgrimage rites and asking for God’s help and forgiveness. Why not take Majnun to Mecca, too?
    ‘After all,’ said one of the elders, ‘only God can open the lock for which we impotent humans have no key. Maybe He in His compassion will come to our aid and cure this poor wretch of his affliction. The ka’ba is a place of prayer and contemplation for men and angels alike; it is the altar of the heavens and the earth, where all men ask God to help and forgive them. Why should He not help us?’
    Majnun’s father agreed, and on the first day of the last month of the year — the month of pilgrimage — he left with a small caravan of his best camels for the holy city of Mecca. Majnun, still too weak to walk, was carried in a litter, like a tiny child in a cradle.
    Finally, they reached Mecca and set up camp. As he had done throughout the journey, the old Sayyid gave charity by showering gold on the crowds as though it were sand. His heart, once so heavy with despair, lightened as soon as he caught sight of the ka’ba, around which thousands of white-robed pilgrims were circling like moths around a flame. He could hardly wait for the moment when he would be able to present his wretched, love-sick child to his Lord and petition Him humbly for assistance.  
    At last, it was time for them to perform their rites. Taking his son gently by the hand, the old Sayyid said, ‘Here, my son, is the House of One who is a friend to all those without friends. Here is the House of One who can cure all ills, even those ills that have no cure. Yes, my son, this is where — God willing — one chapter of your life ends and another begins. We have come here so that you may seek solace in God and findrelief from your sufferings. Call upon God by His most beautiful names and ask Him to help you. Ask Him to save you from your obsession. Ask Him to take pity on you, to grant you refuge and lead you back to the path of sanity and goodness. Tell the Lord how unhappy you are and ask Him to unlock the door of your grief and let it flow away. Ask Him to free you from the evil of your desire, before it is too late. Go, my son, and do as I say.’
    At first, the old Sayyid’s words brought tears to his son’s eyes. But then Majnun began to laugh. Jumping down from his litter, he dashed into the crowd and, snaking in and out of the pressing throng, found a way to the ka’ba, which he began to pound with his fists. Then, with a voice that hovered between laughter and tears, he cried out, ‘Yes, it is I who have come to knock at Your door today! I, Majnun, the madman, the fool who has sold his life for the sake of love! And may I remain love’s slave for ever!
    ‘O Lord! They tell me that only if I abandon love will I regain my sanity, but the truth is that love is all I have! Love is my strength, my rock. If love dies, then I die with it. Such is my fate, as You know. O Lord, I beg You, by all of Your names and attributes, let my love grow! Let it blossom to perfection and endure, even if I fade away and die! Let me drink from the well-spring of love until my thirst is quenched. And if I am already intoxicated with love’s wine, let me become more so!
    ‘O Lord! They tell me to banish Layla from my thoughts and to crush the desire I have for her in myheart. But I beg You, Lord, to engrave her image more deeply on my mind’s eye and make my desire for her even stronger! Take what is left of my earthly existence and offer it to her as a gift; take the rest of my life from me and add it to hers.
    ‘O Lord! Let her berate me, castigate me, punish me — I do not care. I am ready to sacrifice my life for the sake of her beauty. Do You not see how I burn for her?