The Real Layla

In the story of Layla and Majnun, we picture Layla as a beautiful girl, captivating and maddeningly gorgeous, body and soul, having enraptured Majnun to turn him mad with love. But what if she was really quite plain?

There’s a story in the Mathnawi of Rumi in which Layla is in front of a Cadi (Judge), and he says something along the lines of: “So, you’re Layla. But you’re not beautiful at all, I don’t see how you could become so famous, you’re very plain.” And Layla replies: “You see me that way, because you’re not Majnun.”

Rumi continues: seeing with Allah’s eyes or seeing with physical eyes. Everything seen with Allah’s eyes becomes transformed — into its true Reality. That’s when we look, and look… and see only Allah.