Leyla and Mecnun’s story is often associated with Mevlana Rumi, who told the story in his writings as an example of finding God through love. Leyla and Kays are school friends who fall in love. Not finding Kays suitable for her daughter, Leyla’s mother takes her out of school and forbids them from seeing each other. Kays suffers greatly from this separation, and goes mad. People start to call him Mecnun (“crazy” in Arabic). Mecnun wanders the deserts and replaces his material love for Leyla with divine love. Leyla goes after him, but when she finds him Mecnun does not recognize her material being. Understanding that Mecnun’s love for her has turned into a greater, divine love, Leyla gives up pursuing him and dies of her misery. After her death, Mecnun cries at her grave, and begs God to take him too. God hears his prayers. The two become one, defeating time and material being.

 

Ajvaz Dedo

 

I'm Ajvaz-Dedo and you've probably heard of me. Truth be told, different things are said about me. So some will talk about how I am a  worker who can work miracles. Others will say that I am a learned and good man - and I would most like it to be so in the end and for my learning to be widely known. Others consider me an ordinary grandfather, who, by the will of God, brought water to Prusac. There are, again, those who say I didn't even exist. Some will say “maybe,” some will say this, and some that way.

However, I am Ajvaz-Dedo, a poor man and a servant of God. I hope I have pleased Him. And the world? He was not born who pleased the world.

If you have been to Prusac, you will agree with me that it is a beautiful town. What it was like in my vacancy! Alleys, cobblestones, mahalas, beautiful stone mosques and proud minarets above them ... Beauty that only dear God can give.

And up, above that beauty, up in the mountain, God gave a rock. Huge and stout. There’s more than an hour’s walk, and it’s all uphill. Who is in poorer health, by God, has more. What, now, do the Prussac and the rock have to do with, and where in the whole story me, the poor servant of God? I will tell you, and you, as you wish.

I had a long desire to bring water to my Akhisar, as we used to call Prusac. Who has not lived where there is no water or is in short supply with it, does not know what torment is. I flew around the town looking for a water source. There were smaller ones, but I needed a very strong source of water, which will not be released even in summer, when the heat intensifies. And it took a long time. Still, the effort paid off in the end. I found exactly what I was looking for. Who knows, maybe even the water source was looking for me, because that's how it can be in this world of ours. If you only knew how happy and thankful I was to God ...

The very next morning I took the water to the town. Oh, how dashing I was. I had the feeling that life was flowing behind me in its most beautiful form. However, not everything will be as smooth and passable as we expect. Whenever great joy and excitement befalls you, be measured, because there will always be something that will try to shake you and cloud your happiness. That's how it was.

In front of me, in front of the water and, it seems to me, a rock stood in front of my whole life. The poor slave of God found himself in front of a rock that is rarely seen. There was no place next to it, and it was impossible to get through it. Dear and Merciful God, what should I do? I will not give up, and You will already be given some way out and providence. Yes, that is exactly what I will do - I will pray knew that the most valuable and God-beloved prayer is done at the end of the night, while most of the world sleeps in warm and comfortable beds. I came every night, sometimes at the crack of dawn, and sometimes earlier. There I worshiped and prayed wholeheartedly to the Almighty. He saved Noah / Noah from the flood, He took Yunus / Jonah out of the fish's womb, He split the sea for Moses / Moses, He made the fire cold for Ibrahim / Abraham, He gave Jesus / Jesus to raise the dead and heal the blind ... Only He can and split or crush this rock. I prayed every night, so I prayed there and then returned to Prusac. And so, night after night, resolutely and persistently.o You; You created it and only You can dissolve it.

One night, after prayer, I fell asleep. A vast field before my eyes. From somewhere, two horned rams, white as snow, prayed. They looked at each other for a while, then headed towards each other. And now I can hear the sound of horns as they collide. Suddenly there was a loud bang. The ram disappeared. The fields also disappeared. I winced and felt a chill on my body. It's already dawn. How could it happen that such a dream deceived me and, after all, what kind of dream was it? How did those animals and fields disappear and what could have hit so hard? Questions swarmed, but no answers.

I took my things and went to the town, accompanied by the chirping of birds. Suddenly I stopped. The legs did not want to, nor could they move on. I couldn't believe my eyes. The same high rock stood just as tall and proud, only this time cracked. It was possible to pass through it comfortably, and even to spend water. I look and I wonder - am I dreaming? I look around, close my eyes and expect the rams to come out of nowhere again, or the meadow to spread out. Nothing happens.

 

That's it and there is no other. The Exalted God answered my prayers, just as He answered and helped His elect. The rock has crumbled and now there is no obstacle; I go on, the water will reach Kasaba, and Akhisar will come to life again. Dry throats will be refreshed with cold water, ablution will be taken, and gardens and watermelons will be easier to water and give their fruits even more abundantly.

There was no end to my happiness and only God knows what effort I put in and shed sweat until everything turned out the best. In time, everything became known, so the world began to gather. There is almost no place where people do not get dressed, so the direction of Prusac. Flags are specially prepared and jewerly and formal clothes are worn. And only the horsemen ... Throats, more and more seen than more seen. On the saddles their riders are adorned. Everyone gathers in Prusac. The line-up and roll call start in the early morning, and then everyone climbs up the cliffs and meadows.

There are all ages there; youth, middle-aged people, those who have not yet said and shown how much they can, but also children. They all walk together from Prusac. Along the way, they meet, talk and admire the omnipotence of the Creator. The clatter of hooves and the whirlwind of flags died down as soon as the cracked rock was reached. Soon we go on, all the way to a spacious meadow, the same as from that dream. Prayer is offered, the Qur'an is recited and the vase is recited.

And so for hundreds of years.

That's why you, if the road takes you to Prusac, walk, like, to see. And there is something to see and learn. If nothing else, learn that God's power has no end. His Power is unquestionable. Only your faith in Him and your will to surrender and rely on His help is questionable.

This is what I told you, Ajvaz-Dedo.

I know they'll talk to you too, some like this and some like that. Maybe they will answer you, so you won't even come, and maybe right here and in your heart, some water of a new life will flow in which you will be better, more useful and dearer to God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I, a poor slave and servant of God, want that from the bottom of my heart