Through my love for you, Layla, I have become famous

Everyone who’s path I cross notices:

I am mad from violent love and passion[1].

What man is safe from the agony of separation?

Nothing but pain from your gaze

As it stokes my fires, igniting a blaze.

Don’t kill me by turning away! Don’t kill me by hating me!

Layla, have compassion… be tender…

Wallahi[2] I love you[3]… I suffer…

Retaining this love, I melt with desire[4],

Fearful of a slanderer, a spy, a jealous cad,

Telling people what they do not know.

[1] I translated al-jawa (الجوى) as ‘passion.’ Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya defines al-jawa as “passion at it’s extreme, be it positive or negative. (la passion à son extreme, qu’elle soit positive ou negative)” Translated from Arabic to French by Malek Chebel (English is my translation), from his book L’érotisme arabe, pg. 54.

[2] Wallahi ( واللهِ ) – extremely common Arabic oath akin to saying “by God” in English and meant to express sincerity.

[3] The root of the word عاشق is عشق (ishq), which I translated as “I love you.” Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya defines al-ishq as “loving passion.” He continues: “The word ishq is the most bitter of the names of love. It exists neither in the Quran, nor the sunna (Hadith). Its usage thus came later. Yet, it is at the heart of the ‘Hadith of Love’ related by Suwayd Ibn Sa’id: ‘He who loves, who remains chaste until death, dies a martyr.’ According to the work Lissan al-‘Arab, the word ishq derives from the word ishqa (ivy), which is a saprophytic plant (i.e. a plant that feeds on dead or decaying matter) that dries up and emaciates that upon which it grafts itself. In the same way, the lover (male or female), devoured by their passion, dry up in front of their beloved. (Al-ichq : la passion amoureuse. Le mot ‘ichq’ est le plus amer des noms de l’amour. Il n’existe ni dans le Coran, ni dans la sunna. Son usage est d’ailleurs for tardif. Pourtant, il est au coeur du ‘hadith de l’amour’ rapporté par Suwayd Ibn Sa’id: ‘Celui qui aime, qui reste chaste et qui meurt, celui-là meurt en martyr.’ Selon le ‘Lissan al-‘Arab,’ le mot ‘ichq’ dérivait du mot ‘ichqa’ (lierre), qui est une plante saprophyte qui dessèche celle sur laquelle elle se greffe. De même, l’amant ou l’amante, dévorés par leur passion, dessèchent en presence de l’être aimé.) Ibid. pg. 54 (English is my translation.)

[4] According to Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, al-gharam (الغرام) is “the love above all, the love that imposes upon itself, that maintains itself. The word gharam means ‘credibility,’ just as it is told in the Quran: “their chastisement is surely longlasting (إنّ عذابها كان غراماً ) (XXV, 65).” (Al-gharam – l’amour au-dessus de tout, l’amour qui s’impose à soi, qui s’affirme. Le mot ‘gharam’ signifie ‘crédit,’ ainsi qu’il est précisé dans le Coran : ‘car son châtiment est des plur durables’ (XXV, 65).”