American Journal Of Philological Sciences
110
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue07 2025
PAGE NO.
110-112
10.37547/ajps/Volume05Issue07-28
The Mystical Characteristics of
Abdurahmon Jami’s Epic
Layli And Majnun
Avezova Aziza Mavlonjonovna
Basic doctoral student at Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi, Uzbekistan
Received:
31 May 2025;
Accepted:
29 June 2025;
Published:
31 July 2025
Abstract:
The article analyzes the depiction of Majnun’s state in various stages of the spiritual path in Abdurahmon
Jami’s epic Layli and Majnun
.
Keywords
:
Metaphor, Sufi, Sufism, spiritual stage, seeker
.
Introduction:
According to the concept of love in
Abdurahmon Jami’s epic Layli and Majnun, Majnun was
initially a representative of common, worldly love.
Unlike Navoi’s Majnun, Jami’s Majnun did not possess
innate poverty of spirit (tug‘ma faqirlik). Therefore, he
became a “suluki
majzub,” that is, one who
experienced spiritual ecstasy (jazba) during the path of
suluk. Thus, he was required to traverse the stations of
suluk. Majnun experienced mystical states (hol) even
before passing through the maqomat (stations). On the
road toward Layli, Majnun faints.
Firstly, Sufi masters explained the seeker’s spiritual and
moral perfection with the terms sayr (journey) or safar
(travel). These words were also used in their literal
sense, since traveling was considered one form of
ascetic discipline (riyazat). Many Sufis traveled the
Muslim lands on foot, attaining the companionship of
renowned sheikhs.
Secondly, the state of fainting in Majnun is associated
with Ibtido (the beginning), specifically the stage of
Yaqzo (wakefulness), in which this state produces joy
and ecstasy. It is well known that hal (spiritual state) is
linked to the soul. It brings with it feelings of joy,
delight, bliss, and ecstasy, or conversely, sadness,
constriction, and longing. In other words, a brief
moment of spiritual upliftment and radiance brings joy
and bliss, but once the radiance passes, sorrow arises.
In the state of hal, there is no turning back;
transformation only occurs forward.
In Majnun, too, such a short-lived ecstasy is followed by
sadness. After seeing Layli again, he becomes joyful
once more. The gnostic (arif) attains ecstasy through
perceiving with the open eye of the heart and being
moved by what is transmitted in hadiths and spiritual
works. There is always yearning for the Beloved when
He is absent; once attained, the traces of ecstasy
vanish. Ecstasy (shavq) is the yearning for what has not
yet been attained. As mentioned above, in hal there is
no return; change only proceeds forward.
That is why, in later sections, after Layli binds Majnun
with a vow of loyalty and makes him swear an oath, we
no longer see Majnun in a state of happiness. His
condition steadily worsens. At the next stage, Majnun
attains the station of repentance (tawba). In Sufism,
the seeker (salik) not only purifies the soul (tazkiya
nafs), but also strictly observes the etiquette of the
spiritual path (suluk) in a passionate manner, avoiding
blameworthy traits (akhlaq-i zamima) and firmly
adopting praiseworthy ones (akhlaq-i hamida). This is
seen when Majnun, despite the pleas of countless
beauties, ab
andons Karima’s tribe.
If accepted by God Almighty, in this way the seeker
advances in tariqat and attains the appropriate spiritual
ranks. It is known that the ranks attained by the seeker
are metaphorically called maqam and muqam, and
symbolically described as valleys, rivers, or seas. If the
seeker firmly adheres to the practice of suluk without
turning back, he remains in that station (maqam). For
example, if he repents in accordance with suluk and
does not break his repentance, he remains in the
statio
n of repentance. Majnun’s act of repentance in
Layli’s presence testifies that he had entered this
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111
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
station. A state (hal) is a condition that is not firmly
established, unlike a maqam. Therefore, Majnun’s
repentance once again at the Kaaba was not without
meaning.
When Majnun refused to marry his uncle’s daughter,
he demonstrated his attainment of the wara‘ (piety)
station. At the station of zuhd (asceticism), when
Majnun was a guest in someone’s house, he did not
extend his hand to the host’s set table and
declared
that hunting animals and eating their cooked meat was
forbidden for him. Majnun’s address to the wind
indicates the station of faqr (spiritual poverty). He saw
that even Nawfal could not help him, so Majnun called
upon the wind. This shows that Majnun now felt more
deeply the power of God and realized his dependence
upon His might. The Prophet himself said: “My poverty
is my pride.”
The next is the station of sabr (patience). Upon
reaching this station, patience became Majnun’s
constant companion. Majnun freed the gazelle from
the hunter’s hand. The gazelle, like Layli, was without
freedom, akin to prey in the hunter’s grasp. At the
station of khawf (fear), after Majnun spoke of his love
in the Kaaba, we see him, out of fear that Layli might
suffer
harm, returning from the Kaaba not with Layli’s
caravan but with another group.
At the station of raja (hope), Majnun, wearing a fur
coat, entered among Layli’s sheep and, upon
approaching her tent and seeing her, fainted in delight.
At the station of tawakkul (trust in God), Majnun
realized that even after going on pilgrimage to Mecca
he could not achieve his goal; the widow could not help
him, Nawfal brought no benefit, and even crying to the
wind did not ease his pain. Now his only reliance was
upon God.
At the station of rida (contentment), the heart is
cleansed of wickedness and impurities, submitting to
the decree of fate, abandoning the approval of the ego,
and entering into the approval of the Truth. It is the joy
of a heart surrendered to divine command. Lahiji
defines rida as the servant abandoning his own will to
embrace the Beloved’s will, showing not a trace of
objection to divine destiny. At this stage, the seeker
(salik) feels no anger, agitation, resentment, or grief. It
suffices to recall Ma
jnun’s condition as he awaited
Layli’s return in the final parts of the poem. Thus,
Majnun attained each of the spiritual stations in
succession.
Overall, in Sufism the stations (maqamat) are classified
differently by different mystics. There are many
stations, but their seven comprehensive forms are
presented in Lison ut-tayr under the names of valleys.
In every station of the spiritual path, the pure lover
experiences a unique spiritual state. Analyzing the
sequence of Abdurahmon Jami’s epic, we see that
the
portrayal of Majnun’s condition reflects the depiction
of the pure lover’s state at various stations of the
tariqat. For example, Majnun’s journey up to his first
meeting with Layli indicates that he had passed into the
station of talab (seeking). Here the seeker searches for
the path of tariqat, struggling to escape worldliness,
wealth-worship, ambition, vanity, and arrogance,
purifying his soul and morals in accordance with the
demands of suluk, and thereby becoming worthy of
entering the next station.
Majnun’s suffering and torment in the station of ishq
(love) are described after his meeting with Layli. This
love is at the highest degree, urging the lover to
sacrifice his soul and yearn for the One who gave it.
When the seeker enters the state of hal, it is not his
tongue but his heart that begins to speak, expressing
experiences and inner states through gestures,
behavior, and actions. Majnun’s elevation from the
station of love to the station of ma‘rifat (gnosis) is
depicted when he dons a fur coat
and goes to Layli’s
tribe. This symbolizes the countless paths and methods
of suluk: some straight, others crooked, yet all sharing
the same ultimate goal. Some, blessed by the light of
divine gnosis, attain their goal according to the
suffering they endure; others stray from the path and
perish.
When Layli broke the cup and Majnun rejoiced at it, the
poet illustrated his elevation to the station of istighna
(self-sufficiency, detachment). Layli too finally
understood that Majnun desired nothing of this wor
ld’s
materiality and that his aim was utterly different.
Istighna is non-neediness. God the Almighty is
Mustaghni
—
in need of nothing, yet capable of
everything. According to this divine attribute, seekers
are tested with dreadful and merciless trials. Most
cannot endure this test; only a very few succeed in
surviving it.
In Sufism, the knowledge of recognizing God is called
tawhid. In this state, the seeker (salik) becomes
immersed in the Divine Light, so that only the Existence
of the Truth (Haq) remains. This signifies that the entire
universe consists solely of His unity and essence, and in
theological terminology it is defined as belief in the
Oneness of God. In Sufi doctrine, tawhid means faith in
the eternal and unchanging unity of God. For scholars,
tawhid pertains to doctrine (‘aqida), whereas for Sufis
it is the goal itself
—
an experience, a vision, and gnosis
(ma‘rifat). The first relies on knowledge and
affirmation, while the second is grounded in spiritual
perception and delight.
According to Imam
Ghazali’s definition, “Tawhid is such
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
112
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
a noble station that reliance on God (tawakkul),
contentment (rida), and surrender to God’s will are the
fruits of this rank.” In the epic, Jami depicts Majnun
waiting for Layli, enveloped in the rays of the sun, a
portrayal signifying that Majnun had reached the stage
of tawhid. When Layli returns, Majnun does not
recognize her and tells her to leave. Reaching the stage
of hayrat (awe and bewilderment), Majnun becomes
estranged from reason, turning into one like a
madman.
But can the soul attain this station without separating
from the div? The Sufis affirm that it can. If a person’s
perfection rises to the highest degree, whereby he
attains union with the Truth, then he experiences
absolute annihilation (fana)
—
becoming filled with
divine gnosis, wisdom, and knowledge, forgetting
material existence and transforming into a spiritual-
divine being. The merging of the personal “I” with the
cosmic “I,” the soul taking on a universal form, is
regarded as the highest degree of perfection. At this
stage, man merges with the boundless realm called
eternity and attains immortality.
Fana signifies that the human aspect of the seeker is
completely annihilated within the divine aspect of God.
In the final parts of the epic, after Ma
jnun’s death, the
poet states that Majnun, abandoning the outward form
(majaz), reached the meaning of Truth (haqiqat) and
drank the wine of meaning from the goblet of form. The
poet conveys the grace of God through Majnun’s
words:
“O you whose condition h
as been ruined, for thirty
years you endured suffering. Why did death not claim
your soul? What did the eternal Beloved do to you?”
He replied: “My God bestowed His grace upon me,
raising me to the throne of dignity.”
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, within the narrative sequence of Layli
and Majnun, the philosophy of Sufism, life’s reality,
poetic imagination, and hyperbole are intricately
interwoven.
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