A great many love stories have been told through all time, but the story of Majnoun and his love for Laily is exceptionally renowned the world over. Majnoun had fallen ill, and he knew exactly why: he had been separated from his beloved Laily far too long. The torture of not being in her presence had demoralized Majnoun, weakening his already frail body. He coughed incessantly and breathed only with great difficulty, unable to eat or drink. His friends eventually called a physician, who promised to do what he could to restore Majnoun to health. After thoroughly examining him, the physician announced that diphtheria had struck the lonesome lover.
“So, what's the solution?” the friends inquired impatiently.
“I know of no other treatment but to bleed him!” decreed the doctor. “Unless we rid him of the infected blood, he won't even survive the night.” Immediately, the physician sent for the local bleeder, for this procedure needed an expert.
Majnoun, who had fallen into a semiconscious state, heard the physician's plan for treatment and made a great effort to sit up in his sickbed. The doctor tried to dissuade him from expending energy while attempting to lash down his arm with a strong piece of cloth, preparing him for the swift, razor-sharp cuts that would initiate the bleeding procedure, but Majnoun signaled that he wished to speak. “Leave me alone!” he yelled out as he shook his arm free.
“But my good man, you won't survive the night!” the physician tried to convince him.
“So be it! If my dilapidated body wishes to leave this earth, then that's what shall happen.”
The friends, the bleeder, and the physician, who all knew that Majnoun had shown genuine courage in several escapades he'd been party to in the past, wondered if he'd now lost his nerve and was afraid to be cut.
“Majnoun,” called out an old friend. “Since when are you afraid of a few tiny cuts? You, who I know has faced down wild beasts on several occasions in unknown lands, why be scared of this?”
“I'm not afraid of being cut; my entire body is in fact covered with love cuts,” he responded dreamily. “I no longer exist, for my whole being has been taken over by my love for Laily. I'm simply afraid that if you cut me, you might be cutting her at the same time! Only those who are particularly sensitive can tell that there's no difference between Laily and me, that we're one and the same!”
Having spoken his mind, Majnoun turned his back on those who sought to help him and refused to be touched, instinctively protecting the love of his life, Laily.