Faiz Ahmad Faiz wrote a Nazm originally titled “Ek Naghma Karbala-e-Beirut Ke Liye” (A Threnody for the Karbala of Beirut), dedicated to Lebanon's capital, Beirut, while he spent several years in exile there after being imprisoned and harassed by the military regime of General Zia-ul-Haq in Pakistan. 

The poem is thought to have been a direct response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. It draws a comparison between the historic tragedy of Karbala and the devastation of Beirut, reflecting on the destruction and loss of life he observed during the siege. The poem pays tribute to the city and its residents' resilience while mourning the innocent lives lost.

Karbala represents a historic and spiritual opposition to injustice and tyranny. By renaming Beirut after it, Faiz elevates the resistance of Lebanon and Palestine to a universal level. 

Read the lines – “The laughing eyes of children are now the twinkling of stars.” Even when the mirrors in children's joyful eyes are broken, he observes that their brightness still lights up the night. 

Faiz states that, despite bombs and bloodshed, this resilient city was founded at the dawn of time and will last forever. 

I do not know who translated the poem. 

Beirut—Portrait of the feast of the world 

Beirut—Heart of the Garden of Paradise 

Those shattered mirrors once

The laughing eyes of children 

Are now the twinkling of stars

The nights of this city are illuminated 

And the land of Lebanon is resplendent

Beirut—Portrait of the feast of the world

Whose face is decorated with blood 

Ravishing beyond beauty

Now this city’s lanes

Are lit with their dazzling splendour

And the land of Lebanon is luminous

Every desolate house, every single ruin 

Is more magnificent than Darius’ palace 

Every fighter is more valiant than Alexander 

Every daughter is Laila’s equal in beauty

This city existed from the beginning of time 

This city will exist till the end of time 

Beirut—Heart of the land of Lebanon 

Beirut—Portrait of the feast of the world 

Beirut—Heart of the Garden of Paradise