DUBAI: In honor of Valentine’s Day, we look at some of the most iconic Middle Eastern love stories from literature.
Aja and Salma
Today, Aja and Salma are twin peaks in Saudi Arabia’s Hail province. However, according to folklore, the origin of these mountains’ names stems from the tragic love story of Aja and Salma, which dates back centuries. Their story goes something like this: Aja and Salma hailed from two different tribes. Both loved each other but their parents refuse to get them married. They decide to run away together, but were eventually caught and killed.
Antara and Abla
The couple’s love story was full of obstacles, as Abla’s father ordered Antara bin Shaddad to bring him 100 camels from King Al-Numan before he could marry his daughter. However, Antara fulfilled the request and was able to marry his lover.
Qays and Layla
‘Majnun Layla’ is an old love story of Arabic origin that tells the story of two lovers named Qays and Layla who were born into the same tribe, but were unable to be together. Qays becomes obsessed with Layla, and his tribe gives him the nickname ‘Majnun Layla,’ a term that is still used to this day to describe someone who is madly in love.
Jameel and Bothaina
Bothaina and Jameel initially met at a farm and quarreled because of a camel, but this animosity ended with the highest degree of love. Jameel asked for Bothaina’s hand in marriage, but her father refused. She later married another man and Jameel fled to Yemen. They never ended up together, but their love story is immortalized in Jameel’s poetry.
Scheherazade and Shahryar
As the story is told, embittered Persian King Shahryar has his wife executed after finding that she has been unfaithful. Marrying a new bride every night, he continues to execute his bride the following morning until he meets Scheherazade. To avoid the same tragic fate, Scheherazade would tell her king stories but does not tell him how the tale ends. Because he so wants to hear the end of her tale, he postpones her execution. On the second night she finishes her tale and starts anew. So, it goes for 1,001 nights, until King Shahryar falls in love with Scheherazade and makes her his queen.
Qutuz and Jelnar
Both lovers were born to the royal family of the Muslim Khawarizmian dynasty in Persia. However, with the rise of the Mongol danger, their empire was ransacked and the two were captured and sold as slaves. The lovers both ended up in Egypt, with Jelnar becoming a servant to a prominent family in Egypt and Qutuz joining a group of powerful slave soldiers before climbing up the ranks and eventually becoming the Sultan of Egypt. The couple eventually found each other, and Qutuz managed to defeat the Mongols in the battle of Ain Jalut with his beloved right by his side.
