تَفاءَلتُ لِلمَولودِ في بَطنِ مُصحَفٍ

فَبَشِّر باِبنٍ قادِمٍ اِسمُهُ يَحيى

Within a muṣḥaf I sought a favorable omen for the newborn;

and it gave me glad tidings of a coming son whose name is Yaḥyā.

فَأًصدِق بِهِ مِن مُخبِرٍ وَمُبَشّرٍ

وَأَحرَ بِأَن أُسمّيهِ يَحيى لِكَي يَحيا

How truthful a teller and bearer of glad tidings it is!

How fitting that I should name him Yaḥyā, so that he may live!

وَإِنّي لَأَرجُو اللَهَ يُسعِدُ جَدّه

فَيَحظَى بِفَوزٍ في المَماتِ وَفي المَحيا

Indeed, I hope that God will bless his lot,

that he may attain success in death and in life,

وَيُكسى رِداءَ العِلمِ وَالحِلم وَالتُقى

فَيُدرِك عُقبى مَن تَعفّفَ وَاِستَحيا

and be clothed in the mantle of knowledge, forbearance, and piety,

thus attaining the good end of one who is chaste and modest.

وَممّا يَقوّي فيهِ ظَنّيَ أَنَّهُ

سَمِيُّ نَبيٍّ مُرسَلٍ شافَهُ الوَحيا

And what further strengthens my good expectation of him is that he is

the namesake of a messenger-prophet who communed directly with Revelation.