While jogging every day, I see a gentleman sitting on a bench by the park with a book in his hand. The other day I looked away for a moment, but today I stood and looked at the gentleman. He wore an old-fashioned hat, thick-framed spectacles, light blue shirt and white pant. Seeing the gentleman reminded me of my grandfather. He also used to wear pajamas with fatwa in this way. The gentleman has a metador pen in one hand, with which he marks the book for a while and picks up the notebook next to it and writes something in it.
I can't say for sure whether there is anyone else sitting in this city with books in hand at this time, but I can't guess. I don't read a book myself. I read this for an hour or two a day on weekends. But even if I don't read the book, I feel a pull towards the book. If I had enough leisure, I would probably read a lot of books. So it feels good to see someone reading a book. This is also the reason for my interest in the gentleman. Otherwise, where is the opportunity to think about others in this unfamiliar city? I slowly started walking towards the gentleman. I am stepping very carefully so that the murmur of the leaves does not disturb the attention of the gentleman.
After about five minutes, the gentleman looked up from the pages of the book and seemed a little surprised to see me standing next to him. The gentleman can't say that an aquatic person has been standing next to him for so long. How much is immersed in the book? I don't understand what kind of bookworm he is. The gentleman greeted me and asked if I could say something. I replied to Salam, 'Can I sit next to you for a while?' Without answering me, he moved the notebook from one side to the other. I understand you are signaling to sit. So I sat down without saying anything.
Leaving me aside, the gentleman remained immersed in the book for about five more minutes. Then he closed the book, put it aside and looked at me and said, 'So what did you say?' I said in silence, 'You like to read books, don't you?' The gentleman took off his glasses and looked at the sky once. Then he turned to me and said, 'Have you heard the love story of Lily-Kais?' I said, 'I've heard the love story of Lily-Majnoor but I don't think I've ever heard the name Kais before.' The gentleman smiled and said, 'Don't listen.'
The gentleman put the spectacles on his eyes again and cleared his throat once. Looks like he's going to make a long speech. My guess is true. The gentleman began to say, 'The story of Lily-Kais is known in our country as the story of Lily-Majnoor. But in reality there is no one named Majnu. Arabic Laila came to west Laili and Majnun came to west and became lover. He is called Majnun Layla or Laili's crazy because he is in love with Lily. That is the origin of Lily Majnoor. '
I always like to learn something new. I was very interested to know the story of Lily-Majnoor in a new way. I said in an inquisitive manner, 'Then what is the real name of this Majnoor?' The gentleman seemed to be very happy to get an attentive audience. He smiled and said, 'Majnoor's real name is Qais ibn Mulawih. The funny thing is that this Kaiser was also a great poet. ' I was surprised and said, 'Is that so?' The gentleman smiled again and said, 'Hmm, that's right. There is also a collection of his poems called Diwanu Qais Ibn Mulawih. I laughed and said, 'Couldn't such a great lover be a poet?' The gentleman smiled and joined me.
Listening to the gentleman's pearls, I had no idea about the time. I looked at my watch and saw that it was time to go to the office. I got up from the bench and said, 'I have missed a lot without talking to you for so long. Today is a great experience to know something new. If I had time, I would sit for a little more time. Come today then? ' The gentleman extended his hand to shake hands and said, 'I like to talk to an attentive listener like you. See you again in sha Allah. '
As I was about to leave, the gentleman called from behind and said, 'Are you leaving without knowing the answer to your question?' I looked back and said, 'That's right!' The gentleman, tidying up his equipment, said, 'My love for books is like Kais's love for Lily. I am trying to shave something. In sha Allah. I want blessings.
[Note-I wrote this article in my native language and translated it into english] thank you for reading.
