In a story from the ancient Islamic world, a man in Baghdad became perfect friends with a man in Egypt via written correspondence. One day, the Baghdadian decided to visit in person the Egyptian. The Egyptian joyfully welcomed the Baghdadian into his home. Despite enjoying his friend’s lavish hospitality, the Baghdadian became acutely ill.
The Egyptian called forth all the best doctors in Egypt to minister to his friend. These doctors worked to diagnose the man’s illness:
The doctors checked his pulse, and they again and again inspected his urine. Nothing in these tests indicated an illness. And when these indicated no bodily illness, by that they knew the illness to be love’s passion. Having realized this, the master of the house came to the Baghdadian and asked him if there was some woman in the house whom he loved.