بشراك أفصح غاية الإفصاح — Mufti Fathallah

Your glad news was proclaimed with utmost eloquence

by the bird of glad tidings, fluttering its wing.

And the universe dances for joy, adorned,

like a bride dancing in a gown and sash.

And cheer has come, and good fortunes have arrived in succession,

and bliss has mounted the dais of rejoicing.

And joy has come, as though it were the water of life,

flowing through bodies and souls.

And fellowship gives us the choicest wine of good fortune from

the cup of serenity, among the finest cups.

And the east scatters stars like coins

from sunset until the arrival of morning.

And the horizon has brightened, dancing as it says:

“Praise to the Lord, who cleaves open daybreak!”

And Beirut swayed, radiant

and shining at the arrival of the lamp:

the cub of the gallant youth, lion of the lair, father of glory,

the bountiful ocean of courage and generosity,

master of keen swords and tall lances in battle,

of every sharp, cutting sword and spear;

of cheerful countenance, possessed of beauty and splendor,

with a radiant brow, bright and shining;

master of lofty honors, beneath which lies Suha’s sphere,

in glory above its Simak the Lance-bearer;

lord of happiness in the most exalted rank,

amid good fortune, graced with success.

Indeed, I congratulate him, my lips smiling,

on his arrival, which calls forth rejoicing.

And may God preserve him and make his lifespan

the lifespan of vultures, in piety and righteousness.

And remain safe, and live on in health and safety,

for all time, in the ease of one at rest;

as long as a bird flies, as long as a nightingale sings,

as long as a branch sways in a breath of wind,

as long as a star gleams, as long as dawn appears, and as long as

journeys are made by night, at morning and at evening;

as long as Abd al-Latif comes forth with his verse,

praising you with the most eloquent praise.