Don't Remind Me

Eyes Of Majnun

This is a story of Layla and Harun-ar-Rashid, the famous emperor. Upon hearing that a poet named Qays had fallen hopelessly in love with Layla and lost his mind for her, and was therefore named Majnun- the madman- the emperor became very curious about the woman who had caused such misery.

"This Layla must be very special creature. A woman far superior to all other women. Perhaps she is an enchantress unequaled in beauty and charm," he thought.

Excited, intrigued and curious, he played every trick in the book to find a way to see Layla with his own eyes.

Finally, one day they brought Layla to the emperor's palace. When she took off her veil, the emperor was disillusioned. Not that Layla was ugly, crippled, or old. But she wasn't extraordinarily attractive either. She was a human being with ordinary human needs and several defects, a simple woman, like countless others.

The emperor did not hide his disappointment. "Are you the one Majnun has been crazy about? Why, you look so ordinary. What is so special about you?"

Layla broke into a smile. "Yes, I am Layla. But you are not Majnun," she answered. "You have to see me with the eyes of Majnun. Otherwise you could never solve this mystery called love."

Is there a way to grasp what love means without becoming a lover first?

Love cannot be explained. It can only be experienced.

Love cannot be explained, yet it explains all.

-Rumi

(An excerpt from Forty Rules Of Love By Elif Shafak)