Scarcely less celebrated than the story of Majnun and Layla--among the
Arabs, at least--is that of the poet Jamil and the beauteous damsel
Buthayna. It is said that Jamil fell in love with her while he was yet a
boy, and on attaining manhood asked her in marriage, but her father
refused. He then composed verses in her honour and visited her secretly
at Wadi-'l Kura, a delightful valley near Medina, much celebrated by the
poets. Jamil afterwards went to Egypt, with the intention of reciting to
Abdu-'l Aziz Ibn Marwan a poem he had composed in his honour. This
governor admitted Jamil into his presence, and, after hearing his
eulogistic verses and rewarding him generously, he asked him concerning
his love for Buthayna, and was told of his ardent and painful passion.
On this Abdu-'l Aziz promised to unite Jamil to her, and bade him stay
at Misr (Cairo), where he assigned him a habitation and furnished him
with all he required. But Jamil died there shortly after, A.H. 82 (A.D.
701).
The following narrative is given in the _Kitabal-Aghani_, on the
authority of the famous poet and philologist Al-Asma'i, who flourished
in the 8th century:
A person who was present at the death of Jamil in Egypt relates that the
poet called him and said: "If I give you all I leave after me, will you
perform one thing which I shall enjoin you?" "By Allah, yes," said the
other.
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