On Thu, 10 May 2001, David Grogan wrote:
> A question to anyone who might know this...
>
> In the song, "Les Roses d'Ispahan" (Faure, Op. 39, No. 4), a reference is
> made to "Leilah." Who is this character, and what gender is (s)he? Thanks
> for any light you can shed on this for me!
The Leilah referred to is NOT Eric Clapton's.
One of the lovely romantic love stories of Islamic tradition is that of
Leila and Majnun. It is the Islamic corollary of the Krishna/Radha tale
(and more indirectly the Christ-the-Bridegroom/Church relationship when
expressed in more romantic terms by certain Christian mystics). The story
also bears some striking similarities to the Dante-Beatrice story in its
material aspects, though not in the lesson it teaches.
According to Meher Baba (from whom I first learned of this love story):
"Majnun and Layla (also Majnu; Laila, Leila): The Islamic tale of Majnuns
one-pointed love for Layla has its origins in Arabia and is thought to be
based on a true story....The story of Majnun and Leila is a famous Persian
tale of the height of human love. Majnun (meaning "possessed by a jinn" or
"love stricken", actual name Qais) and Leila (meaning "sweetheart", actual
name Laila bint Sad) loved each other profoundly. They were from
different tribes and were never united in love, and because of that pain
of separation Majnun nearly went mad with grief and his love saw Leila in
everything. His love intensified to such heights that he came into contact
with a Qutub [a Sufi perfect master] who bestowed God-realization on him."
The tale is, in its way, a parable of the intense, all-consuming,
obsessive (in a good sense) love of the mystic for God - Majnun being the
metaphor for the mystic, and his profound desire to unite with Leila the
metaphor for the mystic's attempt to unite with God.
Karen Mercedes
=====
My NEIL SHICOFF Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
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I sing hymns with my spirit,
but I also sing hymns with my mind.
- 1 Corinthians 14:15
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